The electrification of industry is a key strategy for maintaining European Union\u2019s competitiveness and strengthening its economic, political, and military resilience. It should be carried out with maximum use of zero-emission energy sources.<\/p>\n
In Poland, a significant barrier to electrification is the capacity fee mechanism.<\/p>\n
The current method of calculating this charge rewards a stable, \u201cflat\u201d energy con sumption profile. At the same time, it discourages increased consumption during the hours when the capacity fee is applied (set by the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) as 7:00 a.m.\u20139:59 p.m. on business days). During these same hours, there is a growing oversupply of energy generated from photovoltaic sources. This results in the need to curtail production, including through non-market reallocation. In practice, therefore, some of the cheapest energy from RES is wasted. Consequently, the current model limits the economic incentives for electrification and for active energy consumption management by industry.<\/p>\n
A properly designed capacity fee should serve as a clear price signal encouraging consumers to reduce their energy consumption during periods of capacity short ages in the power system. Such a mechanism makes it possible to limit the volume of capacity contracted on the capacity market and reduce the operating costs of the entire system. Maintaining the current model may lead to opposite effects, while simultaneously increasing the costs of reallocating renewable energy sources.<\/p>\n
Any change to the structure of the capacity fee should take into account the realities of how the power system operates. First and foremost, it is necessary to narrow the range of hours during which the fee is calculated. These hours should correspond to actual periods of risk of power shortages in the National Power System (KSE). This approach will allow consumers to better adapt their energy consumption profiles to system conditions and respond to price signals.<\/p>\n
It is also reasonable to consider moving away from solutions that reward a stable, flat electricity demand profile among businesses. This mechanism reflects the structure of the power system, which is based primarily on conventional sources. Meanwhile, according to the National Energy and Climate Plan of June 2026, energy production from renewable sources will grow rapidly. In the accelerated transition scenario (with additional measures \u2013 so-called WAM scenario), electricity gener ation from solar and wind will amount to 91.5 TWh in 2030 and 170.2 TWh in 2040. This will account for 47% and 63% of total electricity generation, respectively. This necessitates making the system more flexible and linking balancing operations more closely to price signals for all users.<\/p>\n
It should be noted, however, that the proposed change to the capacity fee mechanism may increase costs for some energy-intensive consumers. This applies in particular to entities with a flat consumption profile. Given their importance for maintaining production capacity in Poland and Europe, it is reasonable to introduce temporary support mechanisms to offset the increase in energy costs during the transition period. These solutions should be designed as part of a broader industrial policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3014,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[],"obszar-tematyczny":[104,85,87],"priorytet":[103,43],"rodzaj-dokumentu":[84],"class_list":["post-3126","publikacja","type-publikacja","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","obszar-tematyczny-clean-electrification","obszar-tematyczny-clean-industry","obszar-tematyczny-policy-assessment","priorytet-better-governance","priorytet-climate-neutral-economy","rodzaj-dokumentu-reform-institute-report"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n