Poland amends Energy Law unlocking grid capacity and combating “zombie projects”

On 9 March 2026, the upper house of the Polish Parliament adopted several amendments to the Act amending the Energy Law and other acts, which unlocks grid connection capacity in the Polish electricity system and increases the number of facilities that can be connected to the grid. The reform, the topic of broad public discussion, is designed to address the issue of “zombie projects”, unrealised investments that prevent connection access for other projects that are ready for implementation.  

Statutory milestones for grid connection

One of the most significant changes introduced by the Act is the “milestone mechanism”, which is aimed at eliminating the blocked connection capacity caused by unrealised projects. Under the new regulations, grid connection agreements for grids with a voltage exceeding 1 kV will automatically expire if the connecting entity fails to demonstrate within a specified timeframe that it has obtained the final building permits for the project.

The Act specifies different deadlines depending on the installation. For photovoltaic installations and electricity storage facilities, the deadline is 24 months from the date the agreement is concluded. By this time, the entity must demonstrate that it has obtained a building permit covering at least 80% of the installed electrical capacity specified in the agreement. For receiving installations, a permit covering at least 50% of the installed capacity must be demonstrated. Wind turbines and installations for generating electricity from biogas or agricultural biogas have a longer deadline of 36 months, and in both cases a permit covering at least 80% of the installed capacity is required. The deadline for installations related to railway infrastructure is 60 months.

The Act allows for the agreement to be extended in cases of circumstances beyond the investor’s control, such as force majeure, natural disasters, disruptions in component supply chains, or delays in administrative proceedings. In such situations, the entity may submit a statement detailing the occurrence of these circumstances along with supporting documentation and an indication of the additional time required to meet the requirements, provided this does not exceed 24 months. The connecting entity may submit a one-time request to extend the milestone deadline by a maximum of 24 months, provided they can justify the need for the extension and present documentation confirming the progress of the investment. They must also provide additional collateral in the amount of PLN 60 per kilowatt of connection capacity (not exceeding PLN 12 million).

Changes to connection fees

Some of the solutions to relieve the electricity grid are financial in nature. 

Firstly, the advance payment towards the connection fee has been increased to PLN 60 per kilowatt of connection capacity (up from the current PLN 30). Similarly, the maximum advance payment has increased to PLN 6 million (instead of the previous PLN 3 million).

Secondly, a new non-refundable fee for reviewing the application for the determination of connection conditions has been introduced, set at PLN 1 per kilowatt of connection capacity, up to a maximum of PLN 100,000. This fee must be paid separately for each connection point indicated in the application or the application will be disregarded.

Thirdly, the Act establishes the provision of mandatory collateral to ensure the fulfilment of obligations arising from grid connection agreements for entities applying for connection to a power grid with a rated voltage higher than 1 kV. The amount of collateral is:

• PLN 30 per kilowatt of connection capacity for the portion not exceeding 100 MW; and
• PLN 60 per kilowatt of connection capacity for the portion exceeding 100 MW.

The maximum deposit amount is PLN 12 million. The collateral must be provided no later than 30 days before the connection agreement is concluded, otherwise the connection conditions will be invalidated. The collateral may take the form of a deposit paid into an interest-bearing bank account, an insurance or bank guarantee, or a guarantee from a dominant company within the capital group.

Shortening of the validity period of connection conditions

The Act significantly shortens the validity period of connection conditions to the electricity grid: reducing it from two years to one year from the date of their delivery. This change addresses the problem of grid connection capacity being blocked by projects with unrealised grid connections. This reform will accelerate the implementation of investments by entities that are genuinely interested in connecting to the grid.

The Act provides exceptions to this rule: grid connection conditions for railway installations will be valid for two years, while for offshore wind farms and nuclear energy facilities they will be valid for ten years from the date of their delivery. The Act also introduces the possibility of re-verifying grid connection conditions when concluding the grid connection agreement. In the case of receiving installations connected to a grid with a voltage of more than 1 kV, the system (transmission or distribution) operator may refuse to conclude the agreement if it determines that the technical and economic conditions for connection have not been met.

Changes to grid connection conditions

The Act also contains solutions to simplify the grid connection process, such asreplacing the previous obligation to submit documents in the form of an extract and excerpt from the local spatial development plan (or zoning decision) and a document confirming legal title to the property, with the obligation to submit relevant declarations in this regard.

According to tThe Act, the following must be attached toto the application for the determination of connection conditions:

• a declaration regarding the admissibility of locating the installation in the area covered by the planned investment according to the local spatial development plan (or zoning decision); and
• a declaration confirming the entity’s legal title to use the property on which the investment specified in the application is planned.

The applicant, however, does not need to have the specified documents when submitting the application for the determination of connection conditions. The system (transmission or distribution) operator will retain the right to request these documents from the applicant. Within a period of not less than 21 days, the operator may request that the application be supplemented with an extract and excerpt from the local spatial development plan (or zoning decision) and a document confirming that, as of the application submission date, the applicant has legal title to use the property on which the investment is planned. The deadline for reviewing the application for the determination of connection conditions will be suspended until the requested documents have been received or until the deadline set for supplementation expires without effect.

Other simplifications

Another change is the expansion of the cable pooling regulations. Previously, only renewable energy installations could share a connection, but under the new regulations this will apply to all installations, including electricity storage facilities.

The Act also introduces flexible connection agreements for cases of limited grid capacity, entitling the operator to introduce temporary restrictions on the electricity consumption or feed-in (for no longer than three years from the completion of the facility). Furthermore, configurable connection agreements will be introduced, which may be open-ended and will apply where connection without restrictions is not possible, despite planned grid expansion. 

Finally, electricity system operators will be obligated to enable applications for the determination of connection conditions to be submitted electronically with a qualified electronic signature. The option of submitting applications in paper form will also be retained.

Conclusions

The Act constitutes a comprehensive reform of the grid connection process, which should contribute to the release of blocked grid connection capacities and an increased efficiency in the use of existing infrastructure. Applying the new regulations to existing grid connection conditions and grid connection agreements, however, is controversial.

Regarding grid connection conditions, for entities that received connection conditions valid for at least six months after the Act enters into force but have not yet concluded a grid connection agreement, the deadline for paying or supplementing the advance payment is six months. Entities whose applications for the determination of connection conditions have not yet been reviewed are required to supplement the advance payment within 60 days of the Act’s entry into force or within 30 days of receiving the connection conditions. Failure to pay or supplement the advance payment within the required period will result in the connection conditions losing their validity. Unreviewed applications will be disregarded.

Regarding already concluded connection agreements, the Act also provides for the application of the milestone mechanism. If the agreements were concluded no earlier than 48 months before the Act comes into force, investors have 24 or 36 months, respectively, from the date the Act enters into force, to inform the grid operator they have obtained a final building permit. (Ffollowing changes made by the upper house of the Polish Parliament, these terms have been changed to 30 and 42 months, respectively, although this part may still be subject to further modifications). If the agreements were concluded earlier than 48 months before the Act comes into force, investors have only three months from the date the Act’s enforcement to inform the operator they have obtained a building permit. (For wind turbines, the deadline is six months).

The new regulations, with changes adopted by the upper house of the Polish Parliament, are currently being reviewed by the lower house after which they will be submitted to the President for review and possible signature.

For more information on these regulations and Energy Law in Poland, contact your CMS client partner or the CMS experts who contributed to this article.