energy | In Principle

The Energy Regulatory Office has confirmed that wind projects in RES auctions will not have to demonstrate the incentive effect. Here we explain what these changes will mean in practice.

What will change in the regulations governing the energy sector in 2018? What must energy companies and customers be prepared for? Many new legal proposals have appeared recently. Some of them are still in the legislative process, and others have already been adopted and will enter into force this year.

The president of the Energy Regulatory Office has withdrawn from imposing sanctions on a company that relied on data for a company acquired in a merger when applying for the status of an industrial user of electricity.

A real threat to repayment of credit taken out to build wind farms has arisen. It is a problem for investors and banks. Will it launch a wave of arbitration claims against the Polish Treasury?

We decided to examine the fate of the support system for renewable energy sources in Poland in recent years and the impact now felt by market participants. Understanding what has actually happened can enable all parties to find the best exit from the current difficult situation.

The Act of 22 July 2016 Amending the Energy Law and Certain Other Acts was published on 2 August 2016.

On 4 July 2016, a conference entitled “The power market: Consultations on functional solutions” was held at the Polish Ministry of Energy. At the event, the Minister of Energy announced that a Power Market Act would be drafted by the end of 2016. The power market is intended to ensure the energy security of Poland and continuity and reliability of the electricity supply.

A proposed Act on Wind Power Plant Projects presented in February 2016 is intended to specify the rules for siting of wind farms. But the current version of the proposal generates a huge risk for further growth of the wind power sector and for wind farms already in operation and even for persons interested in building housing near existing wind projects.

The obligation to conduct energy efficiency audits was supposed to be implemented into Polish law in 2015, but it hasn’t happened yet.

TTIP negotiations present an opportunity to lift export restrictions on American oil and gas in force since 1938. Europe would gain increased security in the supply of energy commodities, and the US could reinforce the eastern borders of NATO while competing on the European market.

Signing the transatlantic free-trade agreement could increase Europe’s energy security. The trick is how to compete with American companies that are already using cheaper energy and don’t have to comply with the same restrictions on CO2 emissions.

The issue of decarbonisation of the economies of EU member states, and in particular Poland, generates a lot of heat. Decarbonising the economy was named as one of the EU’s five energy priorities in the Commission communication entitled “A Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy.”