OUR STRATEGYImplementation of the business strategy for 2020-2030

Building OIRE

In 2021, PSE has been appointed as the Energy Market Information Operator (OIRE) that will implement the Central Energy Market Information System (CSIRE) and will be responsible for its operation. The appointment was made under the Act of 20 May, 2021 on amending the Energy Law and certain other acts (Journal of Laws, item 1093), effective 3 July, 2021. In accordance with the provisions of the Energy Law, the CSIRE system is to be launched from 1 July, 2024.

The project to create the OIRE function and implement the CSIRE system, as carried out within PSE, aims at achieving the objectives of the retail market stakeholders and meeting the obligations indicated in the legislation. Its main objective is to ensure an efficient and secure exchange of information in the area of the retail electricity market, covering the acquisition, storage and sharing of energy market information (including metering data).

The operation of OIRE and the functioning of CSIRE will support the implementation of statutory rights and obligations of the individual entities operating in the retail electricity market. CSIRE will process, among other things, information on contracts functioning in the retail market and metering data from electricity meters. The processed information will be used to carry out processes such as changing the seller of electricity and making settlements for its sale and supply. With the launch of the system, energy market processes, including the switching of electricity sellers, will be simplified and their implementation time will be shortened.

Expected benefits of OIRE and CSIRE:

Benefits to end users, including prosumers:

providing free access to their data (including metering data) related to energy delivery points,
make it easier and more efficient to achieve electricity consumption goals, including switching energy retailers,
the ability to verify individual consumption data and electricity input to the grid,
the ability to obtain detailed, reliable and user-friendly information to support decision-making as regards the use of electricity, optimizing consumption and reducing the cost of electricity use,
the ability to make own energy market information, including metering data, available to selected entities, e.g. in order to receive more favorable, individually tailored commercial offers, including those concerning additional services,
ensuring information security and personal data protection in accordance with the requirements applicable in the European Union.

Benefits to electricity market participants:

reducing the cost of operation for entities in the retail electricity market and lowering the barrier to entry by reducing the number of interfaces and creating a single point of access to energy market information,
the ability to exercise statutory rights and obligations through the efficient and secure exchange of information in the retail energy market through CSIRE,
unification of rules for execution of retail electricity market processes within the framework of legally defined division of roles and responsibilities,
guarantee of data processing efficiency and sustainability in the CSIRE solution,
enabling the creation and development of new services by facilitating access to energy market information, including metering profiles for electricity consumption and generation,
transparency of retail energy market processes supported by CSIRE,
the possibility of obtaining energy market information on potential customers (only upon the customer's consent), e.g. for the purpose of preparing personalized offers.

Benefits to the National Power System and Power System Operators:

improving the efficiency of NPS resources use, among others through better matching of energy consumption to its generation, in particular from RES,
the ability to perform integration of retail and system market processes using metering data available in CSIRE,
improvement of metering data quality through the use of uniform standards and quality benchmarks,
the ability to use a uniform standard of aggregated metering data to meet statutory obligations.

In order to implement the provisions of the Act, our company is implementing a project for the construction and implementation of the CSIRE system and is implementing the next stages of the creation of the OIRE function.

As part of the OIRE project:

In December 2020, PSE announced a public negotiated procedure with notice for the Development, implementation and deployment of a central electricity market information system with supporting services. The procedure was conducted throughout 2021 and continues into 2022. It will result in the selection of a contractor for the CSIRE system. The contract with the contractor is expected to be signed in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In July 2021, PSE announced a public negotiated tender procedure for the Provision of services of data migration to the CSIRE system. The negotiations ran from November 2021 to February 2022. In March 2022, the bids were opened. The contract with the selected service contractor is expected to be signed in June 2022, following the necessary corporate approvals.

At the end of December 2021, the CSIRE Implementation Plan was published, allowing energy market participants to plan the activities they are required to carry out in connection with the construction and commissioning of CSIRE. The document takes into account the deadlines specified in the Act, presents the process of developing and agreeing on the documents that form the formal basis for CSIRE implementation and operation, and the process of migrating the initial data necessary to launch CSIRE. The latest version of the document was produced in April 2022, and is available on the OIRE website (www.pse.pl/oire).

At the end of 2021 and in March 2022, further versions of the draft CSIRE Information Exchange Standards (SWI) were published on the PSE website. The Information Exchange Standards (SWI) are that element of TGC-OIRE which will enable obligated or entitled entities to use the CSIRE system to become familiar with the content of the draft TGC-OIRE in advance and to provide comments.

Amongst other things, the SWI standards define how the electricity retail market processes are implemented, the role model, and the rules for communication through CSIRE, as well as scenarios for the use of CSIRE processes to achieve the business objectives of energy market actors, in particular the needs of electricity consumers. The works performed on the draft SWI were carried out with respect to the opinions expressed by market participants, with whom PSE continues to cooperate within the Team working under the Minister of Climate and Environment, as well as in working groups established by PSE.

The CSIRE Technical Standards for Business Communication (TSKB) have been extracted from the latest version of SWI. The TSKB standards clarify the technical and business requirements of the energy market processes and energy market information exchange implemented through CSIRE. They will provide professional users – e.g. Distribution System Operators (DSOs) and energy sellers (ES’s) – with clear rules of communicating using standardized messages and executing business processes in a standardized manner. The TSKB standards consist of four documents: The information scope of central energy market information system messages, Consequence Matrix, Prioritisation Matrix and XSD diagrams. .

In May 2022, the TSKB standards were made available on the OIRE website. In parallel, a public consultation was held on their content. As a technical document in support of SWI, the TSKB standards do not require any external approval.

In December 2021, the CSIRE Migration Data Model was published. This document covers issues related to feeding the CSIRE system with initial data. The current version of the document, in line with CSIRE SWI, is dated April 2022, and is available on the OIRE website.

On 10 May, 2022 PSE launched a public consultation on the draft Transmission Grid Code – the Manner of Operation of the Central Energy Market Information System and Cooperation with the Power System Users and Other Entities Obligated or Entitled to Use the Central Energy Market Information System (TGC-OIRE).

We are required to submit the entire draft TGC-OIRE to the President of the Energy Regulatory Office for approval by 3 January, 2023 (pursuant to Article 17(2) of the Act of 20 May, 2021 amending the Energy Law and certain other acts; Journal of Laws item 1093, as amended).

Network segmentation

Objective: Ensuring IT and technical security of the power system

Cybersecurity plays – due to its significant impact on the security of the national power system – a key role in our business strategy. One of the strategic initiatives identified in the previous PSE Strategy has been to repel external threats. Activities relating to this initiative are continued as part of the ongoing projects and tasks aimed at improving safety. This includes, i.a., managing the risk of losing the ability to control or manage the NPS operation associated with cyber attacks on the IT/OT systems of the TSO and DSOs, generators, trading companies, exchanges or industrial consumers.

The measures taken are a response to the growing threats in the cybersecurity sphere. This approach is becoming increasingly important in the light of the increasing use of new technologies and communication methods, as well as the growing threats from the company's and the country's external environment. Recent years have seen an increase in threats relating to intensification of targeted attacks using dedicated tools to carry them out, especially on critical infrastructure. Phishing attacks are also becoming more frequent and sophisticated in response to growing user awareness, and ransomware attacks (extorting a ransom under threat or after making ICT systems or the data itself unusable). The increase in attacks is also related to the epidemic situation, and the increased digitalisation of life opens up new opportunities to exploit weak points in new solutions and reduced user vigilance. Geopolitical factors are also important, which significantly influence the level of threats originating from the environment.

By adopting and continuing the actions arising from the ongoing cybersecurity strategy, we have identified possible situation development directions, so that the portfolio of actions needed to manage the defined risks and ongoing needs could be developed adequately and in a timely manner. The growing number of cyber threats and specialised attack tools have confirmed the validity of our assumptions and the need to continue our efforts in this area.

ICT security and cyber threat area management – approaches and projects

In the reported period, the ICT Department continued its activities in the area of information and communication technology security assurance. The assumptions pointed to the inevitable and interdependent cybersecurity of our company, market partners in Poland and abroad, as well as capital group entities and subcontractors, while indicating the aggregate impact of cybersecurity on the stability of NPS operation. The pillar of the undertaken activities was ICT security, i.e. business continuity understood as availability and resilience of systems as well as integrity and confidentiality of data in IT solutions.

ICT Security and Cybersecurity

Business continuity as availability and resilience of systems and data integrity and confidentiality in IT solutions

Priority areas of ongoing projects:

Network segmentation – projects aimed at ensuring adequate separation of resources with different levels of vulnerability, including ICT systems at the substations and central critical systems – both through actions at the level of technological standards (e.g. EAZ, SSiN), ICT architecture, high-level technical projects for rebuilding ICT network segmentation and appropriate shaping of business projects, and the infrastructure itself;

Workstation - projects that provide secure work tools to maintain performance and functionality according to business needs, with malware protection and control of permissions and data flow;

Internet connection – our external perimeter providing the company's employees and visitors, subject to rules derived from separation and rights management, with functional and unified access to the Internet (including via a secure WiFi network, implemented at both the company's head office and at the remote organisational units) and adequate, secure remote access;

Detection and response – the work of the Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to ensure ongoing ICT security. A dedicated SOC team conducts continuous (7x24 h) threat monitoring, taking applied actions and countermeasures for IT and OT network incidents. In turn, CERT's task is to raise awareness among employees, publish alerts and warnings on threats, report information on incidents and cooperate with external entities (e.g. CERT NASK, CERT.GOV.PL, RCB) in the field of ICT security.

The technical measures carried out at PSE and the adaptability of our organisation enabled us to enter the first period of the pandemic with minimal disturbance and to operate the organisation normally without disturbance or impact on the processes carried out in the following year. Already in the first year, after analyses, the missing elements were supplemented by purchases or process modifications, so that they could be implemented without the need for 80 percent of employees to be present in the offices.

As part of the measures undertaken we adapt organisational and technical solutions to legal requirements (Act on the National Cybersecurity System) and current ICT security standards, as well as industry standards.

Collaboration

In cooperation with our stakeholders, we constantly work to ensure an appropriate level of collective ICT security and strategic harmonisation of efforts. We also cooperate closely with entities responsible for the cybersecurity of the power sector – both domestically and internationally. To deepen this cooperation and to spread awareness of cybersecurity threats and approaches to combat them, we actively participate – in 2021 mainly remotely – in numerous conferences and seminars as well as national and international sector cooperation forums. Since 2018, we have been organising the PolEx/Cyber Conference For Energy Sector (CC4ES), with industry experts from Poland and abroad. In June 2021, despite the difficulties associated with the pandemic, PSE organised the next edition of CC4ES.

A key forum for international cooperation is the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), under which PSE representatives are involved in projects aimed at ensuring energy security in Europe, developing new solutions or concepts and rules for critical infrastructure in various ENTSO-e working and project groups. They include, i.a.:

Digital committee Cyber Security Strategy Initiative – a strategic direction initiative to ensure the cyber security of ENTSO-E, led by the Director of PSE's ICT Department.
ENTSO-E Cyber Security Working Group – a group that deals with ICT security issues. Its task is to monitor information about threats in the world and to cooperate in projects where it is necessary to take care of safety and shape rules for safe operation of systems and operators.
Working group responsible for development of the Network Code for Cyber Security regulations.
ENTSO-E Enterprise Architecture Team – a Digital Committee task force whose mission is to ensure proper coordination, coherence and decision support on architecture issues within the ENTSO-E/RSC/TSO cooperation.
ENTSO-E CIM Expert Group (Common Information Model) – a group that has developed and maintains standards for the electronic information exchange in the European electricity market.

PSE members also join the work of other groups, supporting them with their competence in the areas of IT interconnection management and designing future solutions that will be created to meet the growing needs of operator systems and the market. As part of this work, concepts are developed for new connections for data exchange between transmission system operators and existing connections are developed. Cooperation in the groups has a significant impact on the security and stability of the power systems in Europe. It also helps to improve employee competence and support partners in this process and fosters the exchange of knowledge and experience.

Thanks to this activity, our employees have an impact on the formation of global standards in the field of IT security of industrial systems, as well as significantly improve their competence in this area. It also helps to adapt the ICT environment to meet growing security requirements and improve resilience to threats.

Inclusion of the FNM in market mechanisms and implementation of innovations resulting from research work

PSE, as the TSO, for the purpose of covering the power demand of end consumers and the balance of cross-border electricity exchange, plans the operation of the national power system (NPS) using balancing market mechanisms. We minimise the total costs of balancing energy, the costs of commissioning generating units and the costs of providing the required balancing capacity, while taking into account the principles of safe operation of the NPS. The accuracy of the consideration of network operating conditions in balancing market mechanisms directly affects the efficiency of NPS operation planning as regards safety of NPS operation and costs. Overdimensioned restrictions on network operation unduly increase costs and, in an opposite situation, reduce costs, but may result in failure to meet the conditions for safe operation of the NPS.

In order to ensure the efficient use of network resources in balancing market mechanisms, PSE works to implement IT tools to manage the Full Network Model (FNM) and to include the FNM directly in balancing market mechanisms. In the English literature, the optimisation task – used in planning the operation of the power system taking into account the FNM and other system constraints – is referred to as the security constrained unit commitment (SCUC). The balancing market mechanisms based on the SCUC solution integrated with the NMMS, i.e. the module for FNM management, is designed as part of PSE research work, in cooperation with PSE Innowacje and the National Centre for Nuclear Research (NCBJ).

Implementing a new market model

On 1 January 2021, PSE implemented stage I of the balancing market (BM) reform. The comprehensive implementation of new balancing market rules required adjustment of secondary legislation to the Energy Law, i.e. the Regulation on detailed conditions for the operation of the power system, balancing conditions, the Transmission Grid Code, and adjustment of contracts between PSE and system users. The operational implementation of stage I of the balancing market reform required significant changes in the IT systems of PSE as well as, to a lesser extent, in the IT systems of the balancing market participants.

In parallel with the refinement of business capabilities, associated with the implementation of stage I of the balancing market reform from the beginning of 2021, our organisation started works on the implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform. The aim of this stage is to meet the legal and regulatory requirements in the area of balancing market operation that were not implemented as part of stage I of the balancing market reform, as well as to introduce changes to support these requirements and to improve the quality of the balancing market mechanism. As part of stage II of the balancing market reform, the following changes will be implemented in the balancing market, of major importance for the operation of this market segment and other segments of the wholesale electricity market:

New balancing market entity and facility structure, including the introduction of balancing service providers;
Market-based mechanisms for sourcing power reserves;
Changes of the rules for planning the operation of the national power system, including:
- implementation of net volume planning,
- introduction of operating orders expressed in power “per point” instead of energy per period,
- reducing the planning period from 15 to 5 minutes;

Scarcity pricing mechanism;
New rules for the valuation of balancing energy and imbalance energy;
Imbalance settlement period equal to 15 minutes.

The implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform will require adaptation of the TSO's business processes and IT systems in the area of commercial and technical data reporting, acquisition of balancing capacity, co-ordination planning and operation of the NPS, acquisition and processing of metering and settlement data, balancing capacity and energy settlements and the conclusion and handling of transmission contracts. The implementation of the changes of stage II of balancing market reform will also require significant adaptation of IT systems of market participants.

In 2021 and the first half of 2022, the scope of works performed by PSE in the area of implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform included, in particular:

Participation in the public consultation process for the draft system regulation on detailed conditions for the power system operation;
Development of draft Balancing Conditions and Transmission Grid Code for public consultation, taking into account solutions implemented under stage II of the balancing market reform;
Commencement of design and implementation works in the IT area.

In parallel to the balancing market reform work, preparatory activities are underway to connect Poland to European balancing platforms: MARI, PICASSO and TERRE. Internationally, PSE as the TSO, continues to cooperate with other TSOs in developing these platforms. Domestically, the connection to the platforms must be preceded by the implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform, to ensure that the domestic balancing market can be properly integrated with these platforms.

Implementation of a tool for probabilistic analysis in the process of planning NPS development

The fundamental objective of transmission grid development planning is to develop such a schedule for the implementation of investment activities that, when completed, will allow the NPS to continue to operate in a reliable and economically justified manner in the future. The direct effect of development activities is to ensure a balanced development of the transmission infrastructure which, on the one hand, will increase the efficiency of the market by reducing the impact of technical constraints in the transmission grid and, on the other hand, will not lead to an overinvestment in the transmission infrastructure and the creation of unjustified financial burdens for system users.

The extent of the required investment in the transmission infrastructure depends on a number of external factors, among which are the demand side, the supply side and economic and socio-political conditions. Some of these factors are by their nature random. In the current realities of power system operation, there is an increasing demand to include probabilistic elements in the grid development planning process as a good representation of the environment.

Probabilistic analyses (analyses that take into account elements of uncertainty in the occurrence of events) on the one hand better reflect reality, but on the other hand are characterised by greater complexity and time-consuming calculations. For this reason, PSE saw the need to develop a dedicated tool to effectively incorporate probabilistic elements into the transmission grid development planning process. This led to the development of a functional concept and the subsequent development of the aPRSP IT tool.

aPRSP is designed to assist planners in selecting cost-effective schedules for implementing grid investments while taking into account random factors affecting power system operation. The tool works in two stages. The first stage automatically identifies so-called candidates, i.e. potential investments involving the construction of new or the modernisation of existing grid infrastructure elements. At this stage, the capital expenditure and potential market returns from the construction of a grid element are compared in a simplified manner. At the second stage, the resulting list of candidates is the input to the actual optimisation process. The process is intended to determine the time and task schedule for the implementation of investment activities that minimize the total investment costs and the costs of market operations, while ensuring that the criteria for the safety of system operation are met.

Definition of CC process with specification of resources, parallel execution in PSE

The new methodology for determining parallel exchange transmission capacity in the Day Ahead horizon has been adopted in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 of 24 July , 2015, laying down guidelines for capacity allocation and congestion management, and Regulation (EC) 714/2009.

In 2021, testing of the new methodology for determining parallel exchange transmission capacity in the Day Ahead horizon was underway, as well as work to develop the tools needed for the productive deployment of the method on both the PSE and RSC sides.

In 2021, as part of the Basics Phase, the IT Implementation Project to support the precoupling phase for the Flow Based MC task was developed, and the Evolutionary Development Phase commenced. An IT Project to implement a Capacity Calculation Analysis (CCA) tool to support the Day-ahead Flow-based Capacity Calculation process in the CORE region was also developed as part of the Basics Phase.

Definition of OPC process with specification of resources, parallel execution in PSE

In 2021, PSE was developing IT tools towards the target functionality to enable Regional Security Coordinators (RSCs) and Transmission System Operators (TSOs) to coordinate Outage Planning Coordination (OPC) on a weekly basis and Short-Term Adequacy (STA) assessment in a weekly horizon.

Outage Planning Coordination (OPC) and Short-Term Adequacy (STA) are two of the five mandatory services provided by Regional Security Coordinators (RSCs) and Transmission System Operators (TSOs) for electricity under the European Commission regulation establishing guidelines for the operation of the electricity transmission system. The services are intended to increase the operational security of Europe's power system.

Purchase of aircrafts

Increasing the number of aircrafts and purchasing helicopters with more favorable maneuvering parameters will allow to: execute more complex aerial operations, use specialized on-board monitoring and reconnaissance equipment, expand tasks in the sphere of security performed in the situation of transmission line failures and unauthorized violation of power substation borders. The increased number of helicopters will enable an increase in the scope of tasks to include, among other things, inspection of the condition of investments and analysis of the terrain during the design and delineation of new lines. Increasing our aerial equipment resources will result in faster arrival of our specialists to failure/outage sites and enable faster response to the incident, thus reducing the time of power outage.

Provision of maintenance and operation of the power output from northern Poland

In 2021, work was carried out at PSE on the concept for the operation and maintenance of the transmission grid in northern Poland (ZKO Bydgoszcz area) following the extension of the transmission grid for the connection of offshore wind farms (OWF) and the HVDC Harmony Link. The concept has been accepted and is currently in the approval phase.

The concept assumes, among others, the establishment of the OWF/HVDC Division and defines the scope of the main tasks for this team. As a result, the OWF/HVDC Division was introduced into the design of the new SRO DE and recruitment applications for this organisational unit were prepared. The Tricity area was chosen as the location for the necessary office space, where an office lease agreement was concluded. The Division employees are currently being recruited. The next step will be the onboarding of the hired candidates as part of their duties and training that will equip the new hires with unique competences of the TSO staff nationally.

In order to ensure the operation and maintenance of the power out system for northern Poland, it is also planned to form the Gorzów/Baczyna Team within the structures of ZES Krajnik, and to establish the ZES Żarnowiec Division responsible for the operation of the Choczewo substation, the Żarnowiec substation and the Żarnowiec DC substation (Harmony Link).

In line with PSE's strategy, building its own maintenance services will result in partial independence from the external market. In the longer term, the initiative to create and develop our own engineering and technical services, especially to handle the most complex tasks such as installation and commissioning of secondary circuits of power substations and HVDC facilities, will allow us to effectively manage the operation of facilities and incidents, i.e. it will contribute to a more efficient removal of faults and failures.

Building a competence centre capable of implementing innovations

In order to adapt our organisation in technological and market terms to changes in the environment, efficient and effective management of the research and development area is essential. In 2021, activities were carried out to improve the management of research and development (R&D) planning, execution and monitoring process, so that it is able to efficiently search for new, valuable and possible future implementations in the PSE CG. Thus, works were continued, which had started already in 2017-2019, at the implementation of the previous strategy (objective: Responsible Development). So far, it has been possible to strengthen the competences of PSE Innowacje as a centre for the creation of an R&D agenda in the PSE CG, i.a. by defining a new framework for the R&D area. An R&D portfolio coordinator in the PSE CG and an R&D team to support his work were also appointed.

The activities carried out in 2021 were focused on streamlining the process of clearing and monitoring completed R&D projects and implementing a system to supervise the implementation of the deliverables of these works, in order to gain benefits and achieve the intended results.

At the same time, works were carried out to introduce mechanisms for accumulating and sharing new knowledge and the deliverables of the R&D works carried out within the PSE CG, and to promote an attitude among PSE CG staff that is open to change and innovation. The objective is to activate the potential to implement new technologies to provide the PSE CG with advantage in the market and to consolidate its leadership position.

We paid and continue to pay great attention to increasing the involvement of the PSE CG in international R&D projects in new market services and power technologies (2017 – EU-SysFlex, 2020 – OneNet).

Construction of the electricity quality management system in the NPS

The purpose of this course of action is to implement solutions that will serve to ensure that PSE can provide the required electricity quality (JEE) parameters and, if necessary, provide the information necessary to determine the source of JEE disturbances and implement corrective measures.

The main objective of the course of action, i.e. the construction of a electricity quality management system in the NPS, will be achieved through the implementation of the following specific tasks:

providing electricity quality monitoring systems (SMJEE) for all points of electricity delivery to consumers and all substations of the TSO – so that monitoring covers each voltage level in at least one measuring point;
implementation of the master electricity quality measurement and billing system (SPRJEE), which integrates measurement data from SMJEE systems and is used to process, report and make available JEE indicators and information on JEE parameters to the CSIRE system.

The SMJEE system currently in place consists of 169 metering devices (analysers) and covers about 39 percent of the required metering points. Implementation of the investment task entitled Extension of the electricity quality monitoring system will enable electricity quality monitoring to be carried out at all transmission grid facilities.

As part of this task, 2 SMJEE systems are being implemented within separate packages, each covering 130 metering points (260 metering points in total). Upon completion of the task, monitoring of the electricity quality parameters will be carried out at a total of 429 metering points. The currently implemented SMJEE systems will meet very high IT security standards and will implement a number of additional functionalities in line with the standards applicable at the TSO.

In 2021, following a tender process, contracts were signed with two contractors and the works planned for the next 3 years began. As part of stage 1, the contractors developed and agreed detailed work schedules and began developing and agreeing detailed design documentation for the substation equipment to be installed (stage 2) and the SMJEE IT systems together with the pilot metering equipment system at a total of 4 substations (stage 3).

The SMJEE system will make it possible to identify predominant sources of disturbance, determine the parties' contribution to their introduction, and determine discounts, and in the future – if regulated by law – also penalties for exceeding the level of permissible individual parameters. Works on this task are scheduled to start in 2023, once the IT part of the SMJEE system has been implemented in the production version as part of the SMJEE system extension.

Electricity quality management in the target system will be based on the following key systems:

SMJEE – performing data reading from the metering devices installed in the transmission grid facilities and serving for their verification,
SPRJEE - performing the integration of data from the SMJEE systems and responsible for processing, reporting, and sharing JEE indicators and JEE parameter information with the CSIRE system.

Implementing an electricity quality management system in the NPS will bring benefits and opportunities such as:

verification of compliance of power quality parameters with the requirements of the system regulation and other applicable regulations at all facilities,
verification of relevance of applications, claims and notifications of end users, DSO and other NPS users concerning non-compliance with electricity quality parameters, including those related to discounts and grid events,
identification and prevention of new sources of disturbances within the completed connections of RES generators and customers to the transmission grid,
issuing opinions on wind farm impact test reports on the power system in terms of electricity quality parameters,
identification of causes of disturbances for electricity quality parameters and identification of the entity responsible for their introduction,
using the collected measurement data to determine corrective measures and eliminate identified disturbances,
collecting information on the electricity quality status to determine appropriate requirements for future connections,
provision of data and recorded events for the evaluation of operation of the equipment in substations and switching operations within the scope of the work of the Commission for Investigation of Disturbances and evaluation of their impact on the plants of entities connected to the transmission system,
evaluation of applied control automation systems operation - analysis of problems concerning the maintenance of voltage levels and voltage imbalance in the power system.

Implementation of investment tasks resulting from PRSP

PSE earmarked around PLN 1 billion for investment tasks in 2021. The most important tasks completed were:

construction of the double circuit Piła Krzewina-Plewiska 400 kV line (circuit No. 2, which operates temporarily at 220 kV, was connected),
construction of the double circuit Pasikurowice-Czarna/Mikułowa 400 kV line (from the Pasikurowice substation to the introduction to the Czarna substation),
construction of the double-circuit Pątnów-Jasiniec 400 kV line (circuit No. 1, which operates temporarily between Kromolice and Jasiniec, was connected),
construction of the double-circuit Grudziądz Węgrowo-Pelplin-Gdańsk Przyjaźń 400 kV line,
construction of the double-circuit section of the Kromolice-Pątnów 400 kV line (circuit No. 2 was introduced to the Pątnów substation, circuit No. 1 operates temporarily between Kromolice and Jasiniec),
construction of the single-circuit Glinki-Recław 220 kV line,
construction of the single-circuit Radkowice-Kielce Piaski 220 kV line,
upgrade of the Janów-Rogowiec, Rogowiec-Piotrków 220 kV line,
upgrade of the Byczyna-Jamki, Byczyna-Koksochemia 220 kV line,
upgrade of the Joachimów-Łagisza/Wrzosowa 220 kV line,
replacement of the OPGW lightning protection wire on the Połaniec-Chmielów 220 kV line, circuit I and circuit II,
replacement of the OPGW lightning protection wire on the Rożki-Puławy 220 kV line,
construction of the 400(220)/110 kV Pelplin substation,
construction of the Żydowo Kierzkowo 400/110 kV substation,
construction of the Praga (Żerań) 220/110 kV substation,
extension of the Recław 110 kV substation by addition of a 220 kV switching station,
extension of the Mikułowa 400/220/110 kV substation for the introduction of the 400 kV line,
extension of the 110 kV switching station in the Kromolice 400/110 kV substation for the connection of the Wielkopolska WF.

Development of the scope and implementation of regular reviews to assess the consistency of defence and restoration plans

In addition to the requirement set out in Article 50 section 3 (System Defence Plan) and in Article 51 section 3 (Restoration Plan) of Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2196 of 24 November 2017 establishing a grid code on electricity emergency and restoration, the TSO developed internal documents setting out the rules for the review, amendment and release of the System Defence Plan and the Restoration Plan.

Coherent security system

The substations are equipped with Technical Protection Systems (SOT) executed in accordance with the Technical Protection System Standard in PSE facilities in force at the date of the project. Technical Protection Systems are an element of physical protection implemented in the form of technical security.

In 2021, PSE carried out the day-to-day operation of the Technical Protection Systems and scheduled maintenance under the service agreements concluded. Investment tasks were planned to be launched to comprehensively implement the Technical Protection Systems by 2026, and the scope of the Technical Protection System submissions were completed on an ongoing basis for investment tasks carried out by other organisational units. The Technical Protection Systems will be further developed in line with the PSE Strategy for 2020-2030.

Implementation of risk preparedness

Regardless of the ongoing activities undertaken in the organisation as part of the risk management, PSE is engaged in tasks aimed at proper and timely implementation of the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2019/941 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector and repealing Directive 2005/89/EC.

The purpose of the aforementioned regulations is to implement measures aimed at preventing electricity crises, preparing for them and managing them in a transparent, joint and several manner and with full regard to the requirements of a competitive European electricity market.

PSE supported the Ministry of Climate and Environment, acting as the Competent Authority, in its work on the plan for risk-preparedness in the electricity sector. The plan, published on 5 January 2022, defines general policies and measures to prevent, prepare for and mitigate electricity crises. It refers to regional and national electricity crisis scenarios, including in particular 28 out of 31 regional electricity crisis scenarios (SRKEE) provided by ENTSO-E and considered relevant (including possible) under Polish conditions.

Selling the infrastructure overflights

Market analysis indicates that there is demand from other concerns and companies, including energy and raw material distributors and suppliers, to use aircrafts to monitor the infrastructure condition. PSE has the organisational and infrastructural potential to provide aerial monitoring services of transmission and distribution infrastructure facilities, including critical infrastructure belonging to other entities.

In February 2022, the company entered into an agreement with the Gas Transmission Operator Gaz-System S.A., under which PSE will provide visual overflight services to Gaz-System, Poznań branch, from March 2022. By the end of May this year, PSE carried out 3 full overflights of gas pipelines in the Poznań branch, with a total flight time of approx. 80 hours and 24 flying days. Our company is organisationally prepared to expand both the volume and scope of the provision of external aviation services.

Implementation of independent aviation operations

Our company owns three Robinson R66 helicopters, the parameters of which perfectly match the needs of PSE, and additionally met the conditions for low purchase and operating costs. Since 5 February 2021, we have the permit PL.SPO.058-HR issued by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority to carry out commercial high-risk specialized operations. This permit allows for patrolling substations, power poles and lines, gas pipelines, other pipelines, and to fly for site inspection and for strategic security patrolling of the power infrastructure. We employ trained, experienced pilots and task specialists. Helicopters and crews are based in three locations around the country, allowing for quick access to all of the power lines. The aerial operations we have carried out have confirmed the high efficiency and speed of transmission infrastructure inspections.

Implementation of the outage planning system

In 2021, our organisation completed the first stage of works including the design and implementation of the Outage Management System (OMS-W), to the extent that it enables the recording and management of outage needs reported within the scope of investment and operation tasks by the Central Investment Unit and the Department of Operation of PSE's network assets.

The system for managing the unavailability of elements of the OMS-W power system will be implemented on a modern IT platform. It will use the NPS element data contained in the RBES database. Entities to directly report the needed outages of NPS elements will be: organisational units at DE, CJI and DSO. At the PSE level, the OMS-W will be the next step towards future integration of the corporation's outage planning processes (with the AM system). Ultimately, the system will be equipped with a support module for the Shift Management sub-process (integrated with the OMS-R and OMS-OS system) and will have an additional module allowing for the creation of operating systems assigned to individual outage requests in the NPS.

The OMS-W system is intended to replace the SEW Rejestr system currently in use, developed more than 25 years ago. In the longer term, it will not be possible to operate the SEW system due to, i.a., changing environmental conditions (e.g. new versions of MS Office packages and operating systems) and the challenges faced by PSE (e.g. international coordination of outages as part of the OPC process).

A further stage of works was also initiated to enable the grouping of outage needs, and the creation and presentation of outages and outage sheets (associated with the reported outages and outage needs).

Implementation of the portfolio of projects to support the implementation of the new rules for managing the NPS operation (PPKSE)

In 2022, PSE continued its activities relating to the implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform (hereinafter referred to as BM), which included design and implementation works in two areas:

regulatory area ─ with regard to acts and regulations approved by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office;
ICT systems on the part of the TSO, DSO and balancing market participants.

A number of tasks relating to achieving business capabilities linked to the implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform and in the areas of coordination planning, NPS operation and NPS transmission and access services were initiated. The works included adapting the company's business processes and the IT systems supporting them to the new requirements resulting from the implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform and selected legal regulations.

The scope of works in the area of implementation of stage II of the balancing market reform carried out in 2022 as part of the portfolio of projects to support the implementation of the new rules for managing the NPS operation (PPKSE) included, in particular:

participation in the public consultation process for the draft system regulation on detailed conditions for the power system operation;
development of draft Balancing Conditions and Transmission Grid Code for public consultation, taking into account solutions implemented under stage II of the balancing market reform;
continuation of design works and commencement of implementation works in the IT area, relating to development of runtime environments for business systems and applications, and standards for data exchange systems;
continuation of design works and commencement of implementation works relating to the implementation of systems and applications for the business areas covered by the changes resulting from stage II of the balancing market reform.

In addition, our organisation carried out a number of activities relating to national and European regulatory obligations as part of its project portfolio. Already on 8 June 2022, we completed works on the launch of a single electricity market coupling mechanism in the CORE region using a method that optimises flow-based market coupling in the Day-Ahead market. The flow-based method allows the interdependence between commercial transactions and physical technical constraints across the region to be taken into account, which was not possible in the previously used Available Transfer Capacity (ATC) method.

In the past year, PSE continued design works and started works on the development of runtime environments and the implementation of the Network Model Management System (NMMS), and commenced design works on updating the software of the SCADA and EMS subsystems of the DYSTER System.

Changing the tariffing process

In order to meet the dynamic changes in the functioning of the electricity market and the expectations of the stakeholders, our company undertakes a number of actions aimed at optimizing the process of planning and acquiring input data necessary for the process of developing and approving tariffs. At the same time, a revenue regulatory account mechanism has been implemented to protect consumers from excessive or abrupt fee increases. Work is currently underway to implement a cost regulatory account mechanism.

Automation and robotics of the accounting records

The company has an electronic accounting document workflow, crucial for the efficient handling of accounting records with the territorially dispersed structure of PSE. In 2021, works were completed to optimise the previously implemented solution integrating the document workflow system with the document recording system. Improvements in the handling of purchase invoices for grant-funded projects and the automatic monitoring of upcoming payment dates were implemented. A number of works were performed to optimise the process of accepting documents and sending them to the accounting system. These measures accelerated the handling of accounting documents, improved their security and ensured the continuity of the entire system.

Implementation of control and verification mechanisms for financial liabilities of the company

As part of the control mechanisms, a model for setting up and verifying counterparty data in SAP was introduced, which minimises the occurrence of the risk of financial frauds. The main idea behind the implemented model was to introduce two stages of setting up and editing master data in the SAP system, according to the principle of separation of roles. A mechanism was also implemented for the regular verification of the master data by a dedicated team responsible for managing this area. The transfer of agreements, annexes and orders relating to cost liabilities into the SAP system in the form of contracts, the implementation of regular monitoring of the financial use of agreements and the verification of orders increase the control over the company's liabilities in terms of both amounts and deadlines.

Total SAP replacement

In 2021, the SAP System Transformation programme was launched at PSE. The aim of the programme is to optimise business processes by modernising, modifying and developing the currently operating SAP environment applications. The chosen course of action ensures the evolutionary development of SAP systems at PSE, resulting from advances in information technology and the development of the organisation's existing competences. The fundamental objective of the transformation is to simplify business processes and make the widest possible use of system (IT) solutions.

As part of the transformation programme, an upgrade and update of the SAP systems will be carried out with a view to standardise and optimise processes on a company-wide level. State-of-the-art system solutions will cover financial accounting and tax processes, so that all transactions are recorded and accounted for within a single IT solution. This will reduce the manual work involved in duplicating data entry and also reduce financial risks.

The SAP System Transformation is also an opportunity to implement a modern IT solution to allow further works in the area of transferring manual, paper-based processes to digital solutions. The programme provides the company with new opportunities relating to managing data analytics for management accounting and analysis.

Implementation of solutions to make fixed asset records more consistent

The area of fixed assets is a significant item in PSE's balance sheet and as such requires the support of IT solutions. In order to minimise the occurrence of differences in the records of fixed assets in accounting, taxation and local taxation terms, mechanisms were implemented for the system verification, monitoring and analysis of the differences shown using IT solutions. The implementation of solutions that make the records of fixed assets in three dimensions more consistent is part of a broader transformation, the primary objective of which is to create system solutions that use IT to support business processes. The work will result in reduction of the risk of errors or mistakes in the company's records of fixed assets and to improve reporting in the aforementioned area of fixed assets.

Financial management

In the area of financial management, a system tool was implemented in 2021, enabling managers to obtain instant information on the company's liquidity. The tool is a report based entirely on data from the SAP system and showing the company's future receivables and payables for various time criteria. The implementation of the tool has eliminated the activities associated with the manual acquisition and processing of data from various substantive units, which has optimised data generation and processing and reduced the company's operational risks. The use of the reports allows efficient management of spare cash, which is crucial for the active investment of free financial surplus.

Show content dedicated to:

OUR STRATEGYImplementation of the business strategy for 2020-2030

Building OIRE

Building OIRE

Network segmentation

Objective: Ensuring IT and technical security of the power system

ICT security and cyber threat area management – approaches and projects

Priority areas of ongoing projects:

Collaboration

Inclusion of the FNM in market mechanisms and implementation of innovations resulting from research work

Implementing a new market model

Implementation of a tool for probabilistic analysis in the process of planning NPS development

Definition of CC process with specification of resources, parallel execution in PSE

Definition of OPC process with specification of resources, parallel execution in PSE

Purchase of aircrafts

Provision of maintenance and operation of the power output from northern Poland

Building a competence centre capable of implementing innovations

Construction of the electricity quality management system in the NPS

Implementation of investment tasks resulting from PRSP

Development of the scope and implementation of regular reviews to assess the consistency of defence and restoration plans

Coherent security system

Implementation of risk preparedness

Selling the infrastructure overflights

Implementation of independent aviation operations

Implementation of the outage planning system

Implementation of the portfolio of projects to support the implementation of the new rules for managing the NPS operation (PPKSE)

Changing the tariffing process

Automation and robotics of the accounting records

Implementation of control and verification mechanisms for financial liabilities of the company

Total SAP replacement

Implementation of solutions to make fixed asset records more consistent

Financial management

Business strategy for 2020-2030

PSE's strategy (2-year horizon) ─ Supplement

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