I. Meetings with authorities and Commune Councils

The information and consultation process provided for residents and local authorities of communes along the considered line route variants started in July 2019. Nearly 100 meetings were held as part of these campaigns to hear the contractor's proposals for various line route options. The first meeting is always addressed to local government authorities, heads of communes and mayors as the hosts of the area. Representatives of the investor and the contractor visited a total of 16 communes. The subject of talks with local governments included, for example, the purpose of the project, proposed location options, environmental impact, technical aspects, and benefits. Working contacts (face-to-face, telephone, correspondence) continue throughout the entire period of the project implementation, as required.

II. Meetings with residents

As part of the campaigns conducted, several dozen meetings were held with commune residents. In several cases, follow-up meetings were required for residents of the same commune.

III. Study visits – EMF measurements

In response to the needs of residents, two study visits for the residents of the Communes of Jadów and Strachówka were organised during the consultation process, where measurements of electromagnetic field (EMF) impact under the operating 400 kV line were taken.

IV. Study visits – KDM

Another type of a study visit was the visit of the mayor and councillors of the Commune of Zabrodzie in the headquarters of the National Dispatch Centre (KDM), from where the Polish power system is managed. It was an opportunity to present the need for expansion and modernisation of the transmission grid nationwide and present its impact on the state's ability to grow.

V. Media activities

Information on the project appeared, among others, in the following media: fakty.wwl, Goniec Tłuszczański, Kurier W, Życie Powiatu na Mazowszu; a number of articles on the course of the consultation were published in Tuba Wyszkowa and Nowy Wyszkowiak, among others. Publications on the need to expand the EHV grid appeared in Wyszkowiak, Tuba Wyszkowa and Tygodnik Ostrołęcki.

VI. Geo-survey

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, a new tool was also implemented to communicate with residents – the geo-survey. It is an application available on the project website: liniaostrolekastanislawow.pl/geoankieta, allowing the proposed route options to be examined. Residents could measure the distance from the line to a selected point, indicate which solution they preferred, and make their own comments or rectifications. The website also provides a set of the most important questions and answers (FAQ), materials concerning the terms and conditions for the project implementation, legal aspects and environmental impact. The new tool was implemented in response to the inability to conduct open meetings with residents during the epidemiological emergency period.

I. Meetings with authorities and commune councils and institutions

The consultation process with local government authorities regarding, among other things, the onshore part of the cable part began in May 2019. In 2021, 28 field meetings were held with authorities and institutions. Numerous meetings were held with the Mayor of Krokowa, Krokowa Commune Council, the Staroste of Puck, the Voivode of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, the Heritage Inspector of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, forest inspectorates, and other parties interested. Information and consultation meetings were also organised for the residents of two villages. Due to the ongoing epidemic emergency and government-imposed restrictions on meetings, one-on-one meetings were organised.

During the meetings, comments on the line routing were collected. PSE representatives presented arguments justifying the project implementation, its formal and legal conditions and concepts for the line routing options. Further steps necessary to reach an understanding with real property owners on the servitude of conveyance set out in the agreement were also outlined.
The meetings were very popular. PSE representatives held individual online meetings or telephone conversations with some of the owners who could not attend on the scheduled dates.
PSE, as the investor, tried to take into account all feasible comments made by residents and owners. Adjustments were made to the line routing where possible.
Discussions with owners of real properties on which the HVDC station in Tyłowo is planned also ended in 2021; all owners signed agreements to sell the land for the substation.

Negotiation and amicable acquisition of property titles

In early 2022, negotiations began with the owners of properties located along the line route to establish the servitude of conveyance for the cable line. During individual meetings with each owner, our company's attorneys presented the location of the installation on the real property, the appraisal report and the resulting amount of remuneration for the establishment of the servitude of conveyance, and also answered questions. In April 2022, notarial deeds establishing the servitude of conveyance were signed with the owners, who then received compensation for this. In the case properties for which it was not possible to establish the servitude of conveyance in agreement with the owners, also due to incompatible entries in land and mortgage registers, a restriction on the use of the real property in favour of PSE will be established by means of administrative procedure.

II. Media and information activities

In 2020, harmonylink.eu website was launched. It contains information on projects and investors, i.e. TSOs in Poland and Lithuania, as well as the agreement form and a dedicated infoline number. The infoline operates daily on weekdays and enables all parties concerned to obtain detailed information about the project. National and local newspapers also feature press releases on the progress of the project. In addition, the company prepared a brochure about Harmony Link, which was distributed to representatives of the commune and later also to residents and owners of real properties located along the line route.

I. Meetings with authorities and commune councils

In 2020 and 2021, an information and consultation process was carried out for projects related to power output from the OWFs. By the end of 2021, more than 250 meetings were held, including 220 with representatives of communes and various institutions. Constraints related to the COVID-19 pandemic meant that some meetings were held via teleconference, but whenever possible, PSE representatives met directly with heads of communes, mayors, commune councils and representatives of counties and offices from the Pomeranian Voivodeship.

II. Meetings with residents

Information campaigns addressed to residents were conducted primarily through information points, where representatives of the investor, including design engineers, answered individual questions and presented the preferred routes of the designed lines. More than 400 comments on the routes presented were collected during 50 on-call sessions involving more than 200 hours of one-to-one discussions with real property owners and residents of the villages affected by the projects. Comments were also collected during online meetings, on the infoline or by e-mail. Once the process was complete, they were analysed and, where possible, taken into account.

III. Media activities

In June 2021, a press meeting addressed to editors from the Pomeranian Voivodeship was held in Gdańsk. At the meeting, the planned projects were presented and details of activities, including the information process addressed to residents, were given. Publications appeared, among others, in Dziennik Bałtycki, on kartuzyinfo.pl and expresskaszubski.pl websites, on the Kaszëbë radio and on TTM TV. The manner in which the information and consultation process was carried out was also the subject of materials published by TVP, TTM, Kaszëbë radio and local news portals.

IV. Transparency in action

In our dialogue with local authorities, institutions and residents, we place particular emphasis on transparency in action and providing reliable information about projects. At the end of the information and consultation process, all stakeholders in our projects received letters summarising the activities. We have published the developed routes of the lines on a dedicated website. The maps – in paper and digital form – have been distributed to communes and county offices, and the dialogue with the community is maintained using an infoline and a contact box.

I. Meetings with authorities and commune councils

The information and consultation process addressed to residents and local government authorities began in 2019. Nearly 80 meetings were organised as part of the campaign, which provided an opportunity to learn about the proposed route of the line. The first meeting – as always – was addressed to local government authorities, heads of communes and mayors as the hosts of a given area. The final stage was the presentation of the designed line route during the sessions of the municipal councils, the meetings of the competent commissions and the meetings with the groups of councilmen. Due to the epidemic situation, depending on the expectations of local authorities, meetings were held both in traditional and online formats.

Investor representatives visited a total of 13 communes. The subject of talks with local governments included the purpose of the project, proposed line route, environmental impact, technical aspects and benefits. Working contacts (face-to-face, by phone and correspondence) continue throughout the entire period of the project implementation, as required.

II. Meetings with real property owners and residents

As part of the campaign conducted in 2021, approximately 20 meetings were held with owners or real properties located along the planned line route and with commune residents. Due to epidemic restrictions, it was not possible to organise meetings in larger groups. The consultation took the form of hours-long on-call sessions in each village (we received around 80 comments and requests). PSE employees were present at the site to provide information on all aspects of the project and design engineers presented the planned line route. In 2022, contact with real property owners was maintained in relation to the need for geological surveys for the building permit design.

III. Media activities

Information about the project appeared in local printed media, on social media, and on websites of respective communes.