First line of Polish offshore highway gets green light
One of the four new power lines to evacuate energy from Polish offshore wind farms has received environmental approval.
„PSE has obtained a decision on environmental conditions for the Choczewo-Żarnowiec power line. This is one of the four new lines that the company will build in Pomerania in the coming years. The 400 kV Choczewo-Żarnowiec connection will strengthen the transmission system of northern Poland and will evacuate power from the first wind farms in the Baltic,” PSE said in a statement. „Thanks to the planned implementation by PSE, it will be possible to evacuate power from offshore wind farms launched in 2026,” says the Government’s Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska.
PSE states that the Choczewo-Żarnowiec line is an important element of the investment program that the national operator has been consistently implementing in Pomerania for several years. It includes the construction of four new 400 kV lines with a total length of approx. 250 km and two power stations. Modernization and renovation of the existing infrastructure is also being carried out. The new lines will be built in 22 municipalities of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. The stations will be located in the village of Choczewo and the rural commune of Słupsk. The construction of new grids and power stations on the Polish coast will first enable the energy generated from offshore wind farms to be taken over and then distributed inland.
The contractor of the line is to be selected later this year. The building permit is to be issued after the location decision. The plan assumes that this will happen in the first half of 2024. The first Polish offshore wind farms are expected to be ready in 2026.
PSE / Wojciech Jakóbik
In September PGNiG will lower gas prices for entrepreneurs and then some
„PGNiG Obrót Detaliczny, a company from the Orlen Group, will lower the price of natural gas for customers that settle the bills according to the „gas for business” price list, which means that in September small and medium-sized enterprises will pay for gas 201.39 PLN/MWh, or over 37 PLN/MWh less than in August,” Orlen said. In addition, the company is preparing a new way to combat the energy crisis, the assumptions of which will be presented soon.
„In September, small and medium-sized companies settled on the basis of the price list, will pay for gas 201.39 PLN/MWh, which is 75 percent less than in January this year. Another gas price cut this year is possible thanks to, among others, the synergies that we have developed within the Orlen Group. Market trends combined with the business potential achieved as a result of the mergers make it possible to make important decisions for Polish entrepreneurs. We are also working on a new solution that can be a real support for large companies using natural gas, and thus the entire Polish economy,” said CEO Orlen Daniel Obajtek, quoted in the statement.
Since the beginning of the year, the price offered to business customers, settled according to the gas for business price list, has been systematically falling, Orlen emphasizes. In January it amounted to PLN 793.93 / MWh, and in April it fell by more than half, to the level of PLN 353.59/MWh. In September, companies will pay even less – 201,39 PLN/MWh. The lower price of natural gas is due to the listing of this fuel on the Commodity Energy Exchange (TGE) and the application by PGNiG Obrót Detaliczny of a reduction of 15 percent. Thanks to this, the settlement price for September 2023, including the auto discount, will amount to PLN 201.39/MWh (net, excluding excise duty), which means that it will be lower by PLN 37.18/MWh than in August (PLN 238.57/MWh), it was also reported.
In accordance with the method of forming the price list introduced from April 1, 2023, the prices in it are indexed to stock exchanges. The price for business customers using the Gaz for Business price list is updated every month, and its amount is given one month in advance. In September, the price of gas in the price list was further reduced due to the use by PGNiG retail of an automatic reduction mechanism of 15 percent. It has been explained that to take advantage of it, one does not need to take any action – the discount applies to all customers settling according to the price list.
„PGNiG Obrót Detaliczny is also taking measures related to another solution, which may prove to be a real support for large companies using natural gas. Its introduction will help to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis and reduce the negative impact of gas prices on Polish businesses Details will be provided soon,” the company said.
PKN Orlen Group manages refineries in Poland, the Czech Republic and Lithuania, has retail operations in Central Europe, mining operations in Poland, Norway, Canada and Pakistan, it also produces power, including from renewables and distributes natural gas. As part of the construction of the multi-energy concern, the company completed the acquisitions of Energa, Grupa Lotos and PGNiG. Its consolidated sales revenues reached PLN 131.5 billion in 2021. The company has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange since 1999.
PGNiG / Jacek Perzyński