Hennig-Kloska: District heating needs a strategy update

The new Minister of Climate and Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska, has announced that strategic documents including Poland’s Energy Policy Until 2040, the National Plan for Energy and Climate as well as the Strategy for District Heating Until 2030 need to be updated. In her opinion, this will be a key element on the way to the transformation of the heating sector.

“In terms of the transformation of the heating sector, it will be crucial to supplement the missing strategic documents, which need to be updated today. This includes Poland’s Energy Policy Until 2040, the National Plan for Energy and Climate as well as sectoral programs such as the Strategy for District Heating Until 2030 with a view to 2040,” Hening-Kloska said during a meeting with representatives of the Polish Heating Chamber of Commerce in Gniezno.

“More than 15 million Poles live in buildings connected to heating networks. We are aware of the huge amount of work that will be needed in the coming years in the field of transformation of the heating grid. These measures are particularly important, as they will testify to the price and quality of heat that Polish residents will receive in their homes,” she added.

According to the minister, local governments should be the center of local energy planning. “They (local governments – ed.) have all necessary data regarding spatial development plans, directions of urbanization of areas owned by cities and municipalities, location of industry, public transport, etc., and above all data on users (heat consumers) and producers – various supply systems available in the area. Investments by heating companies should therefore fully meet the needs of the local community and meet this demand in a cost-effective way, using locally available energy carriers,” said minister Hennig-Kloska.

The Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 defines actions aimed at ensuring energy security while maintaining economic competitiveness, energy efficiency and reducing the impact of the energy sector on the environment through the use of the country’s own energy resources.

Ministry of Climate and Environment / Jędrzej Stachura