Poland Gas & Power Market Access
Poland Gas Market Access
What is the lead time for a Polish gas market access?
6-12 months
What are the licencing requirements to trade in Poland’s gas market?
Polish legislation requires a separate license for trading gaseous fuels (OPG) and cross-border natural gas trading (OGZ).
The law does not differentiate between wholesale traders and end-consumer suppliers – both activities require the acquisition of an OPG license. OPG license obligation, however, is waivered for trading activities done at the Swinoujscie LNG terminal specifically.
OGZ license authorizes to import and export gas. It should be noted that acquiring an OGZ & OPG license is a time-consuming process and requires meeting burdensome storage obligations – both applications may be run in parallel. Applicants should also bear in mind that OGZ license which is not used for a period of 12 months will be expired by the regulatory authority.
How long are the OGZ and OPG licences issued for?
Licenses are granted by the Polish NRA for a specified period of time – no shorter than 10 and no longer than 50 years. It is worth pointing out that if an entity plans to extend the license period, it must notify of this fact at least 18 months prior to its expiry. Past experience of different companies suggests that also the license renewal is a time-consuming process.
What are the gas licencing requirements for EU and EFTA located firms?
Companies registered in either the EU Member States or EFTA contracting countries or Türkiye may be licensed as market participants in Poland without establishing a local branch.
Is a licence required for gas transit in Poland?
Polish law exempts transit activities from the obligation to acquire a license. However, we advise caution in this respect, since any form of imbalance from this activity that would result in effective gas import into Poland, may be perceived as non-compliance and fines can be severe
What are the major compliance measure for gas imports into Poland?
Cross-border natural gas trading suffers from additional storage obligations, requiring an applicant to prove ownership of the necessary storage capacities, or to introduce a document confirming the signature of a preliminary agreement for gas storing services on the territory of Poland or another Member State of the European Union or EFTA. It should be noted that the storage capacity owner needs to prove that both the technical requirements and necessary agreements are in place to guarantee that the strategic stock may be fed into the Polish transmission or distribution system within 40 days.
It should be stressed that any owner of an OGZ license loses it upon failure to maintain the required gas reserve or its delivery standards. The obligatory gas stock should be at least equal to the 30-day average imports value.
What is the licence fee for a Polish gas trading licence?
The annual license fee applies to all gas trading activities. The payment is calculated as a fraction of the revenues acquired from the respective licensed activity. In 2026 the coefficient to calculate the license fee for revenues in 2025 was set to 0.0005 of the respective revenues. The fee is payable by 15th of April the following year. It is worth noting that the annual license fee has a defined floor level of 1000 PLN (approx. 235 EUR) and a cap of 2 500 000 PLN (approx. 590 000 EUR)
Poland gas network access
Gaining access to the Polish transmission network requires signing an agreement with the Polish gas TSO, Gaz-System. To physically trade and supply gas in Poland, applicants wishing to sign a contract with the TSO need to hold the relevant OPG license issued by URE.
What are the collateral requirements with the Polish gas TSO?
Conclusion of a contract with the TSO will also require submission of a collateral. The level of collateral is defined as 125% of the highest value out of the following:
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the network user’s obligations towards Gaz-System, which, in turn, is a sum of (unpaid liabilities to the TSO + possible imbalance charge level which was not yet invoiced)
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2x the transmission service fee in a given month determined by the size of the capacity allocated and the respective tariff
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150 000 PLN in case the user has obtained transmission ability allocation.
Exemption from the obligation to provide financial security applies for market participants meeting the following criteria:
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being based in the territory of a Member State of the European Union or a Member State of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) and
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having appropriate minimum rating: Moody's Baa2, Standard & Poor's Agency BBB, Fitch BBB.
Important rules regarding financial security:
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The company are responsible for calculating the value of their financial security and maintaining it at the required level.
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The company must provide financial security no later than 5 business days before the day the TSO begin providing the transmission service.
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The company must maintain financial security for at least 3 months after the period for which they are allocated capacity (PP) or capability (PZ).
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If the company's financial security is about to expire, they must extend it no later than 14 business days before it expires.
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If you have concluded more than one transmission contract, submit financial security for each of them separately.
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If a company's financial security is too low, the TSO will ask you to supplement it.
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If the company does not replenish the financial security on time, the TSO will suspend transmission services under their bilateral transmission contract with the company.
How is transmission capacity in Polish gas market traded?
Unlike most gas TSO’s of the European Union, Gaz-System has set up its own capacity auctioning platform for cross-border capacity allocation, as well as allocations between the national and transit gas transmission systems.
How are LNG terminals accessed?
Currently the LNG terminal is operated by Gaz-System (the TSO). Regasification services are offered under the LNG Terminal Code. Application for regasification services is done through submitting a dedicated for which requires specifying the licenses held by the applicant, requested capacity, relevant dates for the service, size of cargoes etc. The form also includes options to apply for additional services, such as truck loading. A separate agreement form exists for short-term service.
How is the Polish gas market traded?
The gas market within the Polish national transmission system is organized around the VTP. Access to the VTP from the Yamal pipeline requires nominating gas between the two systems. Polish commodity exchange, TGE, operates cleared gas exchange on the Polish VTP. Unlike in other EU countries, trading in the forward timeframe is done in physical forwards.
Polish Power Market Access
What is the lead time for a Polish power market access?
8-12 months
What are the licencing requirements to enter the Polish power market?
Polish legislation makes acquiring a license for trading power obligatory. The law does not differentiate between wholesale traders and end-consumer suppliers – both activities require the acquisition of a license. The required licence is Obrót energią elektryczną (OEE).
Which regulator issues the licence to trade power in Poland?
Urząd Regulacji Energetyki (URE) is the Polish regulator responsible for supervising and regulating the energy market.
What are the power licencing requirements for EU and EFTA located firms?
Companies registered in either an EU Member State, EFTA state or Türkiye are explicitly allowed to operate their businesses in Poland exactly like domestic establishments.
What are the power licencing requirements for non-EU and EEA firms?
Companies that are not registered in the EU or an EFTA country, or Türkiye, must establish a local branch in Poland prior to applying for a licence.
Are there any additional licencing requirements to trade Poland’s wholesale power market?
There are no additional licensing requirements related to electricity supply activity in Poland as the permit covers the entire electricity network in the country. However, the lack of differentiation between wholesale trading and supply, results in additional reporting obligations imposed on wholesale traders even if they do not supply end consumers in the country. Multiple reporting duties and a risk of loss or market access are features for any market participants. Our partner CorreggioNET offers a reporting alert service so that you never miss a reporting obligation for the Polish power market.
What are the application fees for a Polish power licence?
The application fees for a Polish power trading licence are 616 PLN (approx. 140 EUR) in 2025.
What is the licence fee for a Polish power trading licence?
The annual license fee applies to all power trading activities. The payment is calculated as a fraction of the revenues acquired from the respective licensed activity. In 2026 the coefficient to calculate the license fee for revenues in 2025 was set to 0.0005 of the respective revenues. The fee is payable by 15th of April the following year. It is worth noting that the annual license fee has a defined floor level of 1000 PLN (approx. 235 EUR) and a cap of 2 500 000 PLN (approx. 590 000 EUR).
Accessing Poland’s Power Network
The Polish TSO rarely provides information in English, yet a very basic outline of the process for signing an agreement for electricity transmission services is available on their website. Signing an agreement with the TSO caters for both access to transmission services and for participation in the balancing market. The agreement is governed by the transmission terms on PSE’s website – however, the latest Transmission Network Code (TNC) is available exclusively in Polish. The last translation of the TNC into English is from 2010 and is no longer valid. Scope of activity on the balancing market depends on the role of the market participant:
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Balancing Responsible Party (BRP – Polish abbreviation is POB)
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Balancing Service Provider (BSP – Polish abbreviation is DUB)
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Cross-border exchange participant (Polish abbreviation is UWM) for procuring and using physical transmission rights explicitly
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Market operator (as a trade operator (OH) for balancing units or trade notification and technical operator (OHT) for centrally dispatched units)
The TSO underlines that both the contract and all the correspondence with the applicant will be carried out in Polish and all the documents required as appendices to the application form will need to be translated by a sworn translator.
Does the Polish power market offer Balancing groups and nomination services?
Yes, it is common practice for newly licensed companies to join an existing balancing group as sub-balance account holder, and avoid any contractual relations with TSO (PSE). Or alternatively to sign a transmission agreement with the TSO (PSE) but assign a role of commercial operator (OH) to external service provider, to avoid a need of obtaining WIRE client software.
What are the collateral requirements to become a Responsible Balancing Party in Poland’s power market?
The collateral requirement are subject to volumes and generating capacity however the minimum security accepted by the TSO is PLN 500,000.00. It is worth mentioning that noting that collateral has to be concluded on daily (if not hourly basis) as lack of collateral may lead to significant problems.
Market Entry Steps Poland Power Market
There are three primary routes to market entry in Poland’s Power Market:
In house set up: This scenario offers the highest control but requires the most significant technical investment and 24/7 staffing.
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Step 1: Apply for and sign the Transmission Contract with the TSO (PSE).
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Step 2: Undergo technical certification for the WIRE/UR system.
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Step 3: Establish a 24/7 internal Dispatch/Scheduling desk.
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Outcome: You are the BRP; you manage your own imbalances and reporting.
Outsourced Operations: The company maintains the legal and financial status of a BRP but outsource the operational burden.
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Step 1: Sign the Transmission Contract with the TSO.
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Step 2: Appoint an external partner for Operational Hosting (OH).
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Step 3: Set up a data bridge between your trade capture system and the partner's WIRE terminal.
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Outcome: You are the BRP; you hold the risk, but the external party manages the technical scheduling.
Joining an external Balancing Group: The fastest way to market. The company acts as a "Non-BRP" participant, leaning on a third party’s infrastructure and TSO agreement.
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Step 1: Negotiate a Commercial Balancing Agreement with a Lead BRP.
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Step 2: The Lead BRP adds your portfolio to their balancing group.
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Step 3: No direct contract with the TSO is required.
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Outcome: You are not a BRP; the third party handles all WIRE reporting and TSO settlements on your behalf.
30+ reporting obligations for Polish Power market
Correggio Consulting Market Access Services
At Correggio Consulting, we offer a range of specialist services rooted in a profound understanding of the energy industry. Our service is underpinned by an extensive knowledge and experience of European and global markets at all levels of the value chain.
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