Energy security

The deployment of generation units in the National Power System depends on energy demand, which fluctuates around the clock and changes seasonally. The Transmission System Operator issues work or stand-by orders to generation units in accordance with the rule that units with the lowest variable cost are deployed first. As demand grows, the operator engages further (increasingly expensive) generating units, thereby increasing the wholesale price of energy.

PGE Group has in its portfolio competitive generating units operating on lignite that, owing to their cost advantage and access to their own fuel, are engaged by the operator also during off-peak hours, in practice 24 hours a day, all week long, which accordingly translates into production volumes and economies of scale in the operation of power generating complexes.

Hence, the availability of PGE’s generating assets directly affects energy security and a competitive price of energy for the Polish economy.

• Forced operation, i.e. use of cogeneration units to ensure the quality of energy supply in response to system limitations (of a local nature).
• Use of pumped-storage plants to ensure equilibrium of capacity balance and the quality parameters of energy. Pumped-storage plants are activated at the operator’s request and depending on the needs they can either generate or receive energy.
• Demand side response (DSR) – if a shortage or lack of reserves takes place in the system, the operator may try to reduce demand, which consists of voluntary limiting energy intake by energy-intensive customers (e.g. lignite mines).

These revenues constitute stable part of the Group’s revenues, and with the launch of the capacity market, their role increases even more. Thus, PGE’s exposure to the electricity market will become relatively lower.

The Capacity Market was entered into operation from 2021. In November and December 2018, three auctions were held – for the periods starting in 2021, 2022, 2023.

The main auction for 2024 took place in December 2019, the main auction for 2025 took place in December 2020, the main auction for 2026 took place in December 2021 and the main auction for 2027 took place in December 2022.

The additional auctions took place in March 2020, 2021 and 2022 – concerning deliveries for the particular quarters of 2021, 2022 and 2023.

As a result of the above auctions, the PGE Group concluded agreements, securing a revenue of more than PLN 2.5 billion per annum during the next 8 years (2021-2028). Multiyear auctions concern new units (at Opole, Turów, Dolna Odra and Rybnik power plants) or modernized ones. Low-emission units (like Dolna Odra or Rybnik) benefit from the extension of the contracted capacity supply period by 2 years.

PGE Group is engaged in long-term projects. The construction of new generation capacities and their diversification are some of the key objectives in the Group’s strategy.

The profitability of investments in generation assets cannot be based solely on the volume of energy produced, but requires an additional support system. The solution is the capacity market in which generating units are remunerated not only for the volume of energy produced but also for their willingness to supply it.

Obtaining 17 years of support for the construction of new gas-fired capacity at the Dolna Odra plant and at Rybnik power plant will provide a solid rate of return on investment, while guaranteeing stable revenues.

Delivering electricity to customers is no less important than producing it. As Distribution System Operator, we are responsible for the reliability of energy supplies in the eastern and central parts of the country. We deliver energy to end customers over high-, medium- and low-voltage grids.

Ensuring energy security means, above all, continuously maintaining the distribution network in proper shape, conducting essential modernisations and immediately removing failures caused by forces of nature.

We want interruptions in energy supply to be as short and infrequent as possible. The quality of distribution services is measured using generally accepted indicators – SAIDI and SAIFI.

The President of the Energy Regulatory Office requires distribution system operators to systematically improve quality indicators, tying this to the level of regulated revenue. The tariff process includes the option to adjust network operators’ remuneration due to objective difficulties caused by weather conditions.

In 2022, the SAIDI and SAIFI indicators and the time to connect new customers to the grid were as follows:

PGE is committed to increasing supply reliability and lowering SAIDI and SAIFI indices and is taking a number of measures resulting in faster and more effective outages. The increase in SAIDI and SAIFI in 2022 is due to the deterioration of weather conditions in Poland compared to previous years.

Weather anomalies such as strong winds, snow, icing and storms (Orkan Dudley and Orkan Eunice) at the beginning of the year and storms in the middle of the year caused a lot of damage, including damage to electricity grids.

The increase in the number and scope of investment works increased the average duration of scheduled outages for energy supply by approx. 3 minutes

The Group’s units meet over 40% of the country’s electricity demand and serve over 5.5 million customers in Supply segment, while PGE Group’s distribution area covers over 40% of Poland’s territory, including areas on the border with Ukraine and Belarus.

The Group’s activities are therefore of exceptional importance for the country’s energy security. It is crucial for PGE Group to secure the continuity of operation of power plants and CHPs and distribution infrastructure so as to ensure uninterrupted supplies of electricity and heat to residents, institutions and businesses.

In connection with the situation in Ukraine, a Crisis Team has been established at the central level of PGE Group to continuously monitor threats and identify potential risks. The Crisis Team’s work includes monitoring the security of electricity and heat generation and supply and the protection of critical and IT infrastructure.

Its tasks also include undertaking actions minimising the risk of a crisis situation, preparing the Company in the event of a crisis situation and planning, organising and coordinating works ensuring continuity of the Company’s and PGE Group’s operations.

Crisis teams have also been formed at the Group’s key companies, operating 24 hours a day, carrying out continuous monitoring and identifying potential risks in order to minimise risk to electricity and heat supplies.

All key PGE Group companies have adopted guidelines for developing business continuity plans.

On this basis, companies develop and then implement their own business continuity plans that take into account the specifics of the company. A key assumption of business continuity plans is the development of a catalogue of risks for critical processes, on the basis of which emergency scenarios (instructions, procedures) are developed and adopted.

The emergency scenarios are periodically tested and continuously updated. In the current situation, companies have been tasked with urgently updating and reviewing internal regulations and business continuity plans.

Cybersecurity has grown significantly in importance in the current geopolitical situation. PGE Group has implemented special procedures for monitoring Information and communication technologies (ICT) networks due to increased activity of criminal groups aiming to attack ICT and Operational Technology (OT) systems.

With the CHARLIE-CRP state of alert in force, the emergency plans have been reviewed. This significant change in the Group’s operating context triggered the launch of a threat analysis and risk estimation for cybersecurity incidents. There is also an increased focus on protecting the supply chain against cyberattacks.

The reality of cyber threats is confirmed by attacks carried out against the Group’s ICT infrastructure and users of information systems.

Targeted attacks aimed at phishing or attempting to install malware have attracted particular attention recently. DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks have also been identified, the aim of which is to seize all available and free resources in order to prevent the entire service from functioning. Identified attacks were documented, information about them was passed to the relevant State authorities.

The counter measures taken (monitoring, incident handling and system recovery) allow attacks to be successfully repelled. These actions, combined with adequate management, lead to the build-up of resilience in cyberspace. At the same time, development and improvement of security management appropriate to the identified risks is implemented.

The physical security of the Group’s facilities also has been strengthened. In order to protect key energy infrastructure, the Group cooperates with all services responsible for security in Poland, with a particular focus on the Internal Security Agency (ABW). In addition, PGE Dystrybucja is continuously supported by the Territorial Defence Forces (TDF).

Being aware of the importance of PGE Group’s infrastructure for the country’s energy system and due to progressing digitisation, PGE treats ICT security issues as a priority. PGE Systemy, a PGE Group company, is responsible for ICT infrastructure management and ensuring ICT security.

Infrastructure security is subordinated to the Cyber Security Department in PGE Systemy, which also includes a specialised PGE-CERT team responsible for handling ICT security incidents and minimising their potential effects.

Counteracting cyberattacks takes place on many levels. PGE-CERT monitors threats to system security, reacts to detected incidents and undertakes actions related to the coordination of incident handling. PGE Systemy continuously improves competences and skills of the Cybersecurity Department employees through training.

The PGE-CERT team has an international accreditation of the Trusted Introducer organisation, it is also a member of FIRST.org, a leading organisation associating teams responding to incidents. Since 2020, it has had the status of a certified CERT team. It has also undergone independent certification for compliance with ISO 22301 and 27001.

To secure the infrastructure, technical safeguards are in place to protect PGE Group against malware, targeted attacks and denial of service attacks. Thanks to the implemented software, computers operating in PGE Group network are monitored on a regular basis. Procedures regulating employees’ rights and obligations with respect to IT security have been implemented in the entire company. Among other things, it is prohibited to use company IT devices for private purposes, to use social media except when it is necessary (PGE Group profiles), to log into private email accounts and to use unsecured Wi-Fi networks.

It is exceptionally important to build IT security awareness among the employees of PGE Group through education and on-going information on possible and existing threats, reminding of the principles of safe use of computers, the Internet and company mobile phones. Articles and information on this subject are regularly published in internal company media.

Access to corporate resources from the Internet is provided via an encrypted VPN connection. In order to enable remote work by PGE Group employees, the VPN infrastructure and group communication and teleconferencing environment have been developed.

Employees are equipped with PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) certificates, which are used to secure e-mail messages and electronically sign documents. Computer equipment used for remote work has disk content encryption enabled.

Instructions and advice on IT security rules for remote working have also been created and are available on PGE Group intranet.