At the end of December, one of the last power market auctions took place. Under this form of state aid, contracts so far concluded have been for nearly PLN 90 billion (nominally), which will be repaid until 2044. Financing for them comes from electricity consumers, in the average household electricity bill, in which the power market fee accounts for about 7%. This mechanism, although costly, allows maintaining capacity in the power system. So far, however, it has mainly generated subsidies for existing and new coal and gas-fired power plants. The eighth auction turned out to be different from the previous ones: it was decentralised, clean, cheaper and battery-based. Instead, there is no new generating capacity.

Poland’s new coalition government has declared a new opening in energy policy and offers much more ambitious transition goals, although the details of which are yet to be worked out. One of the first tasks of the new government is to propose a series of climate and energy strategies. Polarised opinions, attempts at disinformation, and political tension will make creating these guiding documents quite difficult. The preparation of the country's new energy and climate policy should be underpinned by sound analyses to justify the choices made. A council composed of the country's leading experts should be established to be a substantive voice in the process.

The new government has a long list of decisions to make. Neglected power plant repairs, the poor condition of distribution networks, an unfinished project to spin off coal assets, and a declining mining industry. On top of that, there is downward pressure on electricity prices. Each of these areas requires immediate decisions and large amounts of money.

To lead an effective energy transition, you need not only regulations, but also good, modern computing tools. The world is changing rapidly - the winner will be the one who is able to plan strategically, but also react to changes and minimize costs. In order to meet these challenges, the Energy Forum, together with Enercode, has taken on the task of building an open energy model that will support the planning of the modernization of the Polish energy sector, taking into account the acceleration of the development of renewable energy sources.