Could you please elaborate on your vision for URE and the main objectives that you aim to achieve during your mandate?

As the President of URE, my primary objective is to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to me by the legislature. These include ensuring sustainable economic growth for Poland, promoting energy security, encouraging competition, counteracting the negative effects of natural monopolies, and prioritizing environmental protection. Poland faces a unique challenge in meeting its climate objectives as its energy market is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Therefore, a transition towards low or zero emissions is necessary. My vision as the President is closely linked to the state energy policy, and my role involves motivating power companies to align their activities with the energy transition reality in Poland.

Do you think that companies in Poland are genuinely open to the idea of energy transition and taking the necessary measures?

While some companies in Poland, including producers and suppliers, are partially regulated through licensing and monitoring, infrastructure companies are subject to full regulation, starting with licensing and ending with tariffs. These companies are mandated to implement changes that align with energy transition in order to continue operating in the market. To achieve the set goals within the given time frame, companies need to invest significantly. Our responsibility is to provide incentives to these companies to motivate them to invest in smart infrastructure that will enable the country to reach its energy transition goals.

What were the circumstances that necessitated the imposition of a price freeze on electricity for households and other consumer categories at the beginning of 2019?

The government imposed the price freeze to protect customers from the rapidly changing electricity prices. While the government’s vision was right, there are concerns regarding the effectiveness of the measures applied. Approximately 75% of Poland’s electricity production is based on coal, resulting in significant CO2 emissions, which directly affect energy prices.

Our involvement in implementing these measures began in 2019, and we are monitoring whether energy companies are meeting their obligations. If they are not, we will take action to penalize them. Currently, the government is considering ex post measures to compensate customers who were adversely affected by the changes in electricity prices.

Did the 2019 measure apply to everyone, or was it targeted towards those who needed subsidies?

For the first half of 2019, the measure applied to all customers, including households and industry. In the second half of 2019, it was limited to households and small businesses. In 2020, compensation was limited to households with low incomes.

In December 2019, URE hosted the largest renewable energy auction in Europe. Are you satisfied with the way the process unfolded?

We conducted 12 auctions between November 25th and December 13th, 2019. Most auctions were dedicated to new installations, while a few were dedicated to existing ones, providing an option to move from the expiring support scheme, which is based on green certificates, to the newly introduced scheme. In terms of efficiency, almost 70% of the TWh announced for large scale wind installations and PVs was sold. In the PV auction, almost 100% of the announced electricity was covered by winning bids. However, the auctions dedicated to biogas, biomass, and hydropower installations did not receive significant interest.

Why do you think Poland is not pursuing opportunities in biogas, biomass, and biofuels fields?

The auction system does not support these fields well, and better alternatives are feed-in premiums or feed-in tariffs. Companies have indicated that the reference price at auctions is too low for them to participate. The TWhs and the amount of money allocated to different fields are specified in the regulations, which we cannot change.