Tuesday 18 August 2015

Heat wave in Poland: blackouts more possible than ever

Beginning of August, with its sudden rise in the temperature, certainly caused satisfaction on the faces of all who you are going on vacation, but it also caused quite a headache to those managing the Polish power system. Heat wave caused blackouts to be probable than one could think. In order to prevent that, there have to be taken drastic measures.

Problem with power system: what actually happened?

Rapid shift to very hot, dry temperature caused the Polish electricity system to become unstable. One of the reasons is lack of diversification of energy sources, that combined with low levels of water in rivers and high temperature of the air and water used in the cooling circuits caused restrictions on the production of electricity, caused very dangerous “mix”. Increased consumption of the electricity during office hours, drought and not fully operational infrastructure enabling cross-border electricity exchange caused Poland to be in the situation where increased electricity demand cannot be covered, added up to already difficult to cover electricity demand.

Stabilizing the power system

In order to prevent eventual problems with electricity supply, the companies (those not of a strategic or security importance) are required to limit their energy withdrawal. Individual customers were also required to limit their consumption, if possible.

Polish Radio reported that the restrictions introduced by Polish Power Grid (PSE) do not include individual recipients or institutions such as hospitals. The restrictions in the electricity transmission are for those customers who specified in the contract amount of conventional power to be set above 300 kW (mainly production facilities). Those companies were advised to follow restrictions from “20. stopien zasilania” conduct.

The so-called “20. stopien zasilania” ( in literal translation meaning “20^th degree of empowerment” ) is a mode that companies need to work in, determining that the recipient can draw power to the amount of the prescribed minimum while maintaining the safety of people and to prevent damage to or destruction of technological facilities.

Polish government tried to secure the demand by referring to Poland’s neighbors with the question of eventual help. As reported by onet.pl, the Ukrainian government has responded positively to a request for assistance in covering energy deficit, issued by Polish Power Grid to Ukrenergo. Poland and Ukraine are connected with the power line of 220 kW, which leads from Dobrotwór (Lviv) to Zamosc. The maximum amount of aid after the emergency power line 220 kW Dobrotwór-Zamosc is 235 MW", which is modest amount considering the deficit but definitely can help in stabilizing the system.

Second half of August : the temperature should be milder

The weather forecast are projecting a bit more favorable conditions in the second half of August. Even though it seemed that the system have stabilized at the beginning of this week, it should be – as always – very valuable and important lesson for the governors and private sector.

Heat wave in Europe : does only Poland have a problem?

Even though the heat wave was present in many European countries, it seems that other states are better prepared for eventual rapid increase in electricity demand. France, for example, even if depending on nuclear power (and has to limit production while the temperature is high) has very well-developed system of cross-border interconnections to cover energy demand rapidly. Germany, as well as Italy, have oversupply of electricity, especially from the renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar).

Lesson learned ?

Poland, as an electricity system, is still in the need of a lot of developments. The country not only depends on old, outdated power plants (mainly fired by coal) but also develops the transmission system in very slow manner. Expansion of the transmission line with Germany, where there is significant oversupply of cheap electricity, could be a “buffer” for Poland if there was a rapid change in the energy demand. Furthermore, despite the liberalized power market, due to the limiting infrastructure, Polish electricity supply is still rather area-oriented. More investment in alternative energy sources ( more solar, wind or hydro power plants) could bring stabilization to the system. Especially hydro power plants, with special attention to storage hydro, could be a good solution as a potential “back-up plan” for Poland.