The largest power plant in Poland is practically inoperative. As a result of the failure in Bełchatów, almost all units were shut down. The situation was saved by energy imports, mainly from Germany and Sweden. Bartłomiej Sawicki from the industry portal BiznesAlert.pl explains that emergency plans have worked, but this may only be the beginning. A gap will appear in the Polish energy sector after 2025 – he adds.
The loss was not compensated by photovoltaic and wind power due to unfavorable rainy weather. As a result, prices on the so-called the balancing market increased by several times to the level of PLN 1,500 / MWh.
How was the situation under control? Sawicki explains that Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne learned the lesson from the problems with power access in 2015 and have already prepared contingency plans, thanks to which it was possible to launch the so-called operator assistance, i.e. energy import of 1 GW. Earlier, regardless of the failure, 2 GW were contracted. Poland bought energy from its neighbors, most of them from Germany and Sweden.
However, the problem may appear after 2025. Then some coal blocks will retire due to their age. Then we will not have a nuclear power plant yet, and RES may fail in such situations as today. Gas blocks are an alternative, but investment decisions should be made now, emphasizes Sawicki.