New Polish regulation promises industry hundreds of millions in energy savings

Polish industry is poised for significant savings, potentially reaching hundreds of millions of zlotys, thanks to a new draft regulation on energy tariffs. This initiative aims to alleviate the burden of some of the highest energy prices in the EU faced by the country's energy-intensive sectors.

The proposed changes are designed to better reflect the actual costs of using the National Power System (KSE). This includes lowering tariff costs, particularly the variable and fixed network charges. Additionally, the regulation seeks to allow industrial consumers to benefit from aligning their energy demand profiles with time-of-use pricing, further contributing to cost efficiencies.

A key objective of the new regulation is to adapt existing tariff solutions to the dynamic energy landscape. This includes accommodating the growth of renewable energy sources (RES), the increasing electrification of the economy, and the rising importance of flexible energy consumption. The Ministry of Energy stated that these adjustments are necessary to accurately allocate system operation costs and update tariff solutions to current technical and economic conditions.

Since 2021, there has been a noticeable decrease in electricity supplied to end-users, particularly affecting large consumers connected to high and extra-high voltage grids, with a total reduction of 10%, or over 2.8 TWh. The Ministry of Energy warned that a continued drop in consumption by energy-intensive users could lead to a situation where fixed network costs are spread across a smaller volume of usage, inevitably increasing fees for other KSE users.