Power outages costing Polish economy millions

The total time Poland suffers from power outages is eight times higher than in Denmark and Germany, a report published by the Lesław Paga Foundation states.

The PLN 1.3 billion sum is only PLN 200 million short of the cost of construction of a gas-fired steam power block retrofit at the Stalowa Wola Heat and Power Plant, the report maintains.

The report bases its findings using the SAIDI – System Average Iterruption Duration Index – which calculates the number of minutes each electricity customer suffered a power shortage during the course of a year.

In Poland, the index for 2013 measured some 412 minutes, while in Denmark and Germany that number was under an hour, at 50 minutes. Meanwhile, the SAIDI for Hungary and the Czech Republic is around 300 minutes annually.

The number of outages in Poland is also high compared to other countries, the report states. In Germany and Denamrk the average number of power outages in 2013 was 0.5, while in Poland the number was 4, behind France and Italy with 3 and 2.5 in Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Rural inhabitants are most prone to power outages, with the report revealsing that the higher the number of inhabitants per square kilometre, the less likely there is to be a power outage.

Furthermore, Germany was found to have a grid which is twice as dense as the one in Poland.

The report recommends investment in the development of Poland’s grid infrastructure, as well as a ‘qualitative charge’ which would put pressure on electricity companies to improve power distribution.

According to the URE energy regulator, calls for such a charge are currently being negotiated and “at an advanced stage,” Adam Dobrowolski from URE has said, adding that the new regulations are expected to come into force from 2016. (jb)

Source: PAP