Green light for the development of energy storage systems in Poland.

The draft amendment to the Energy Law Act has been adopted by the Government. This amendment introduces comprehensive solutions for the operation and development of energy storage systems in Poland.

On 24 November 2020, the Government has adopted a draft amendment to the Energy Law Act, which contains a number of regulations concerning  energy storage systems. The amendment aims to eliminate of barriers to develop energy storage systems and create the conditions for their expansion in Poland.

The draft Act amending the Energy Law Act, which has been adopted by the Government, introduces comprehensive solutions for the operation and development of energy storage systems in Poland. The draft will now be directed to the Sejm [Polish Parliament]. There is a chance that the amendment will be passed by the end of this year. 

The new regulations are necessary to enable dynamic development of the energy storage market in Poland. 

The most important changes provided for in the draft include:

  • elimination of double charging of grid fee for energy introduced and collected from the storage system, 
  • no license requirements for storage services with a capacity not exceeding 10 MW, 
  • complete exemption from the obligation to have a grid energy storage tariff,
  • letting system operators classify energy storage costs as eligible  costs. 

Harmonisation of definitions of “energy storage” and ” energy storage systems” in the draft solves interpretation problems stemming from inconsistencies in these definitions across different legal acts. Redefinition of an “end user” made it possible to exclude energy used for energy storage purposes from the end consumption category. Introduction of energy into the storage system and losses related to energy storage will not be considered consumption by an end user. 

Energy storage has been completely exempted from the obligation to prepare tariffs. Enabling the energy storage business to freely establish contractual relationships is in line with the nature of that business and allows for great flexibility in responding to various market needs related to services provided by energy storage facilities and their valuation.

The maximum power capacity which does not require the operator to obtain a licence has been set at 10 MW. A licence application will require the operator to specify, among others, the technology used to store electricity, total installed capacity of the energy storage system, nominal efficiency of a single charge cycle as well as maximum charging and discharging power. The application will also include information whether the energy storage system is a part of a power generation unit or an end user installation.

Storage systems whose total installed capacity does not exceed 10 MW do not require a license. However, if their installed capacity exceeds 50 kW, they must be entered into a register kept by the Transmission System Operator or the Distribution System Operator appropriate for a given region. Registers of energy storage systems will include their basic technical parameters, such as capacity.

A prosumer who has a energy storage system will be obliged to inform the appropriate Distribution System Operator of that fact, stating the type of energy storage system used in the microinstallation. 

The amendment includes regulations concerning the issuance of terms and conditions for connection and connection agreements. The deadline for issuing terms and conditions for connection of the energy storage system connected to a grid with a nominal voltage not exceeding 1 kV has been set to 30 days. For an energy storage systems connected to a grid with a nominal voltage higher than 1 kV, the deadline is 150 days.

The issue of expert opinion on the impact of equipment on the power system has also been regulated. Assessment will not be required if the energy storage system is a part of a power generation unit and the total installed output nominal power of the storage system and the generation unit does not exceed 2 MW or if the energy storage system is a part of an end user installation and the total installed output nominal power of the storage system and connection contracted power of the end user installation do not exceed 5 MW. 

The draft Act also specifies the conditions under which a energy storage system can be included in the development plans of DSOs and TSOs as a substitute for grid expansion. An investment in a grid energy storage system must be technically justified with respect to ensuring the supply of electricity. The analysis of costs and benefits stemming from the use of a grid energy storage system has to indicate that benefits which will be achieved without disproportionately high costs.