Polish Power Grids are the operator of the electricity transmission system, which is responsible, among other things, for the operation and development of the highest voltage infrastructure. To prepare the system for a large increase in demand for electricity and to enable the connection of new generation sources and the evacuation of power from them, it is necessary not only to modernize the existing infrastructure, but also to build new power stations and transmission lines.
Over 70 GW of renewable energy
One of the key projects conducted by PSE is construction of the network needed to transfer power from offshore wind farmswhose capacity in 2040 may reach up to 18 GW. This requires new lines and stations located on the coast, as well as network infrastructure enabling the transmission of energy to the south. The Choczewo station is already being built, to which four 400 kV lines are to be connected, intended to transmit power to other parts of the country.
IN northern part of Poland infrastructure will also be built to extract power from the first Polish nuclear power plant. This will require the construction of, among others: two new stations (the first station near the nuclear power plant, the second near the Tricity) and transmission lines thanks to which the energy produced in the new power plant will flow to all parts of the country.
The construction of the transmission system of the future is underway / Press materials
PSE’s largest planned investment project is DC bridge (HVDC), which will be used to transmit power to the south of the country, where a large part of energy-intensive consumers are located. The line will run from the vicinity of Słupsk to Upper Silesia. The total length of the linear corridor will be approximately 650 km, and according to current plans, the implementation is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s.
By 2030 it is also planned launch of a new connection between Poland and Lithuania – Harmony Link. It will run from Ostrołęka and Ełk, through the Suwałki area, to the Giżai station near Marijampole in Lithuania. This is one of the key international connection projects in Europe, which received support from EU funds and is related to the synchronization of the Baltic countries with the system of continental Europe.
PSE projects they will also enable the connection of new conventional units and accelerate the development of renewable energy sources and energy storage – according to investors’ plans, by the end of this decade the capacity of onshore wind farms will increase to nearly 19 GW, photovoltaics to 52 GW, and storage facilities to over 31 GW.
You can read more about PSE’s investments at: https://inwestycje.pse.pl/.
Opportunity for performers
To enable this plan to be implemented, PSE They have been improving the way they conduct investments for years. Currently, especially in the case of the construction of new lines, the company is responsible for the entire process of their preparation: from marking the route through dialogue with local communities and obtaining administrative decisions. All this so that the contractor can focus only on the construction itself. This is also facilitated by the investor supply program developed by the company, under which PSE, as an investor, purchases various categories of devices, including those whose availability is difficult, including: cables, autotransformers and various types of equipment and apparatus used at power stations.
“We care about good cooperation with contractors and we are constantly introducing solutions thanks to which our investments attract new contractors,” he says. Włodzimierz Mucha, vice-president of PSE responsible for the investment area. The company has long been using solutions such as advance payments or a shortened remuneration payment period, and the scope of orders is divided into smaller parts. Thanks to this, after settling each stage, the contractor can receive remuneration for part of the work performed more quickly. Favorable indexation solutions have also been introduced that limit the risks for contractors.
From 2024, PSE began to publish a procedure plan, thanks to which potential contractors can prepare in advance to participate in the tender. “We also periodically organize dialogue meetings with contractors, during which we discuss, among others, our investment plans,” he says. Włodzimierz Mucha. The next such meeting is planned for the first quarter of 2025.
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