About Enea Group

Enea Group Structure

Industry profile

The current Polish energy market was shaped in 1997 when the Energy Law Act was adopted and the Energy Regulatory Office was established.

Energy Regulatory Office determines the prices of the energy transfer as well as the property rights from the certificates of origin for electricity and CO2 emission allowances. Further significant changes in Polish energy sector occurred following the accession to the European Union in 2004. Two liberalising directives regulating the rules of the European the electricity and natural gas market were transposed into national law. Important changes also took place in 2007 when the domestic retail customers were given the right to purchase energy from any chosen seller.

The energy market in Poland is comprised mainly of energy groups: ENEA, PGE, Tauron, Energa and Innogy. Pursuant to the Energy Law Act, a license from the President of the Energy Regulatory Office is required to carry out an economic activity in the field of transmission or distribution of electricity. The main distributors of energy in Poland are: ENEA Operator Sp. z o.o., TAURON Dystrybucja S.A., PGE Dystrybucja S.A. and Energa Operator S.A.

There are three groups of electricity producers on the Polish market: system power plants, combined heat and power plants and renewable energy sources. 

Companies that trade in energy are a special group of entities. They were created in 2007 as a result of the separation of trading and distribution activities of power distribution companies.

The energy trade market is regulated by the Energy Law Act and is currently divided into three segments: the contract market, the stock market, the balancing market. The energy trade is based on bilateral contracts (agreements) entered into by the energy producers and energy trading companies and end users.

The stock market includes trading at the power exchange (Towarowa Giełda Energii S.A. or TGE). The energy trading at TGE takes place mostly at the Day-Ahead Market (DAM). DAM is run a day ahead of the 24h day during which the energy is actually supplied.

The balancing market is a specific area of energy market in which the differences between the transactions made by individual market participants and the actual demand for electricity are balanced.

On the Polish market, the majority of electricity comes from conventional fuels (mainly coal and lignite), but energy companies are increasingly restructuring in terms of increasing the share of renewable energy production. This is indirectly due to the obligations arising from e.g. the climate package 3x20, according to which before 2020 Poland is obligated to achieve 15% share of RES in the energy consumption. In order to increase the share of these sources in the electricity production balance in the country, due to high investment costs, it is necessary to use appropriate support systems, which guarantee their systematic development. According to the draft Energy Policy of Poland by 2040, announced in November last year which is currently at the stage of consultations, in 2030 the target share of RES in the energy balance is 21%, which constitutes 27% share in the production of electricity. The same year, 60% of the electricity production will come from coal and in 2040 this share is expected to drop below 30%.

Also according to the plans of the Ministry of Energy, in 2033 the first nuclear unit will start running. Other units will be added every 2 years – the last one in 2043. The total capacity of the first nuclear power plant in Poland will be 6-9 GW. An important factor in the development of the Polish energy market is the capacity market, which has to ensure a stable supply of electricity to households and industry, as, according to analyses, after 2020 there may be a deficit of the required capacity level. The project is planned for 2016-2046. Through capacity auctions, the capacity will be contracted few years in advance to ensure that the demand in a given year is covered. 

This will ensure stable functioning of the existing generation sources, safe development of RES, development of energy storage facilities and investments in new power plants. 

The energy market in Poland consists mainly of four investment groups: ENEA, PGE, Tauron, Energa.