Poland extends coal-plant support to 2028 as gas projects face delays: grid chief

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Poland extends coal-plant support to 2028 as gas projects face delays: grid chief
Polish energy sector warns of winter coal shortages as imports surge 168%
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Poland’s energy system faces mounting strain as aging coal plants remain critical while new gas projects fall behind schedule, the president of Poland’s transmission operator PSE said on Thursday.
Grzegorz Onichimowski told Business Insider Polska that deteriorating 1970s-era coal blocks are increasingly unreliable, compounding delays to major gas-fired plants in Ostrołęka, Grudziądzu and Adamów. The Orlen Ostrołęka plant, originally due online this year, may now start only in mid-2027, while ZE PAK’s 562 MW Adamów project has slipped from late 2026 to the third quarter of 2027, he said. A PGE gas unit in Rybnik is targeted for the first or second quarter of 2027, though Onichimowski cautioned that “we currently have serious shortfalls.”
To keep the grid stable, Poland has extended its capacity-market support for coal plants by three years to 2028, a move that helped avoid shortages during last winter’s deep freeze, according to Onichimowski. He added that summer demand, not winter, has become the greater challenge for the system, with combined heat-and-power plants contributing about 5,500 MW in cold months.
Onichimowski said he does not expect rolling blackouts or load-shedding this winter, but noted that the country remains heavily dependent on the aging coal fleet as gas capacity additions lag .
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