Six special energy zones will soon be designated in northern Poland, Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska announced during this week’s Economic Forum in Karpacz, Poland.
Industrial investors operating within the new special energy zones are to be offered lower electricity rates.
The location of large electricity consumers within a close distance of power generation areas is expected to save costs of constructing power grids, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) said in a press release.
The zones will be created in regions where new large generation sources exist or are planned, including renewables and nuclear power. Investors in such zones will be offered lower quality and variable network fees, thanks to which their electricity rates will be lower than outside the energy zone.
“The creation of large electricity consumers near the places where it is generated in conjunction with the construction of energy storage facilities will improve the efficiency of the use of transmission infrastructure and reduce the need for investment in the network. We coordinate our activities with distribution system operators, whose task will be to verify investment plans in terms of adapting them to the designed zones,” said Włodzimierz Mucha, Vice-President of Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne.
The designated locations will provide access to the highest voltage and 110 kilowatt (kV) power grids and will be connected closely to road and rail. In some locations, investors will also be able to gain access to GAZ-SYSTEM’s gas transmission network.
The special energy zones are planned in the areas of Słupsk, Suwałki, Ostaszew (two zones, near Toruń), Szubin (near Bydgoszcz) and Olsztyn. The zones will be intended for large consumers of electricity with an annual consumption of more than 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) and those planning to build energy storage facilities.
“Some investors are looking for locations where they will have access to both electricity and gas. In order to meet these expectations, some of the zones will be designated in places where the gas network enables the connection of large customers,” said Paweł Pikus, Vice-President of GAZ-SYSTEM.
Legislative consultations on the special energy zones are set to take place later this year. The Polish government is looking to establish the zones at the beginning of 2024, PSE said.
