Nine out of 17 selected electricity and gas projects for EU funding are from Central and Eastern Europe, for a total value of €79 million out of €873 million. The EU funding for the chosen projects comes from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the European support programme for trans-European infrastructure. In the electricity sector in Central Europe, a grant of €27 million will be allocated to support the construction of a new 400 kV internal power line between Cernavoda and Stalpu (RO), which will contribute to increase the interconnection capacity between Romania and Bulgaria and help integrate wind power from the Black Sea coast. The Commission will also invest in studies to support the synchronisation of the Baltics States. Today's decision is of key importance for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and Poland to agree on the way forward to find, by the end of May 2018 at the latest, a solution on the best way to synchronise the Baltic States' electricity grid with the continental Europe system, in line with the results of the ministerial meeting from December 2017 (see STATEMENT/17/5271). In the gas sector, €33 million will fund the preparatory works for the Baltic Pipe Project up to obtainment of all necessary permission(s) in Poland and in Denmark. Some other €16 million will go for the works on the LNG Evacuation Gas Pipeline Omisalj-Zlobin-Bosiljevo-Sisak-Kozarac-Slobodnica in Croatia. Of the 17 projects selected for funding: 8 are in the electricity sector (EU support €680 million) and nine in the gas sector (EU support €193 million). four relate to construction works (EU support €723 million) and 13 to studies (EU support €150 million). The latest PCI list was published by the Commission in [...]
The PSE strategy for 2017-2019 – innovation with a view to future generations and respect for all stakeholders, covers the following issues: Safety for future generations Sustainable development Stable system operation Money spent in a better way PSE resources. This constitutes the main objectives and directions of activities indicated in the new Strategy of Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne for the years 2017-2019, which was adopted by the Supervisory Board on 3rd of March 2017. While fulfilling these objectives, PSE is driven by social responsibility and environmental care principles. The Company’s vision and mission have been built upon three values: dependability, reliability and responsibility. The main duty of PSE is to take care for the security of the National Power System, including in particular the security of electricity supplies to end users. The activity of the transmission system operator must take into account changes faced by power markets, particularly technological and regulatory ones. An inevitable change of the energy mix, consisting in increasing the share of local generation of electricity and renewable energy sources, has to be taken into account in the activity of the transmission system operator. Regulations, including in particular the legislation of the European Union, form the second area. The year 2017 will mark the completion of work on the majority of EU network codes and the beginning of the European Parliament’s work on an exceptionally broad-ranged and ambitious package “Clean Energy for All Europeans.” These documents attempt to implement a change in paradigm concerning power markets, which the Strategy responds to – underlines Eryk Kłossowski, Chairman of the Board of PSE. Strategic objectives for the transmission system [...]
The final electricity consumption in Lithuania totalled 10.47 kilowatt hours (or 10.47 terawatt hours, TWh) in 2016. Residents, businesses, agriculture and transport used 4.5% more electricity compared to 2015. The growth rate in agriculture was as high as 8.4%, service sector 5.7%, residents 4.3%, and transport sector 4%. The lowest year-on-year growth rate (3.5%) was recorded in the industrial sector. “The demand for electricity in Lithuania last year was the highest since 1992. Taking into account that industrial and domestic electricity is used more efficiently, the actual increase is even greater. Over the past few years the electricity demand of industrial and business sectors have been growing the most, whereas transport sector holds the biggest potential for growth. It could be used by changing diesel trains into electric ones as in most parts of Europe”, says Daivis Virbickas, CEO of Litgrid, the Lithuanian electricity transmission system operator, a CEEP member. [Tweet "Two thirds of electricity consumed in Lithuania was imported"]Two thirds of electricity consumed in Lithuania was imported. The majority (37%) was imported from Latvia, Estonia and Finland, 27% from Sweden via NordBalt link, 5% from Poland via LitPol Link, and the remaining part from third countries. “The economy is growing, and the efficiency of using the electricity transmission infrastructure is increasing. It is obvious that our investments in the grid are beneficial to users: the cross-border power links with Sweden and Lithuania – NordBalt and LitPol Link – brought down the wholesale electricity price by 13%. Scandinavian electricity is the cheapest in the region and it is no wonder that Sweden with its abundant hydro resources has become [...]
Henryk Baranowski, the President of the Management Board of PGE (joined CEEP in January 2017) and vice-chairman of the board of directors of CEEP says that strengthening of the EU ETS by increasing the Linear Reduction Factor to at least 2.4% and establishing the intake rate of the Market Stability Reserve up to 24% per year would result in a significant increase of wholesale electricity prices – up to 20% in Poland. It is also a serious challenge for other Member States from Central and Eastern Europe – particularly Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Romania. What do you want to accomplish as a CEEP member? It is clear that international cooperation between companies from our region is essential to find a well-balanced compromise when adopting the EU’s policies. However, despite major common interests (notably the level of the EU ETS ambition, energy import dependency and the need to co-finance the energy transition from EU sources), utilities from Central and Eastern Europe still have much room for improvement in presenting their joint positions in Brussels. It is much easier to promote our interests by working together and speaking with one voice, as opposed to individual actions. It is necessary to identify not only mutual interests but also to find a common platform through which we could communicate with our partners. Therefore, we cannot underestimate the importance of a strengthened regional cooperation. We perceive the membership in CEEP as a great opportunity to present our position to the EU institutions at the highest level. Despite the fact that we have some experience in direct cooperation with other utilities from the region within EURELECTRIC, [...]
Diversifying the gas supplies to Central and Eastern Europe, not only by its routes, but by the sources of supply will allow the creation of a real gas market, with free competition between suppliers and freedom of choice for customers. In the light of this, the decision of the European Commission allowing Gazprom increased access to the capacity of the OPAL pipeline, as well the pursue of the Nord Stream 2 project are contrary to the Energy Union principles and detrimental to the region. These are the key messages discussed during the first edition of Central European Day of Energy, in Brussels. All European projects, according to the Energy Union rules, should increase energy security, solidarity and trust. They also have to comply with the European common rules concerning third party access and competition policy, hence without posing a threat of disruption on existing routes. The gas infrastructure in CEE is still mainly East-West oriented. Therefore, one of the main priorities for the region is the implementation of the North-South gas corridor, a key enabler for breaking the Central Europe’s dependence upon Russian gas. The North–South Corridor comprises a set of interrelated energy infrastructure projects, which would connect Central European markets, both with each other, and with the Western part of the continent. This will be the backbone of Central Europe’s energy infrastructure and will further enhance the region’s energy security. The European Commission’s Vice-President in charge of Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič, reminded that “2016 will be remembered as a highly turbulent year, a turning point between the old and the new energy systems. With the just released “Clean [...]
We represent the widely understood Central Europe energy sector (electricity generation, distribution and transmission, renewables, gas, oil, heat generation and distribution, chemical industries, etc.), universities and scientific institutions.
