National Contact Point for Renewable Energy Sources

Ensuring connection to the electricity grid is a stage of the investment and construction process that precedes obtaining a building permit or is processed in parallel with it. Grid connection enables the delivery of electricity generated in a RES installation. An exception is the so-called "off-grid" installations – operating outside the national electricity system. Under current legal regulations, grid connection is a necessary condition for the delivery and sale of electricity from RES installations.

Ensuring grid connection is a stage of the investment and construction process consisting of the following elements:

• obtaining conditions for connection to the electricity grid from the distribution or transmission system operator;
• signing a grid connection agreement;
• signing an electricity distribution agreement.

Conditions for connection to the electricity grid are a type of document issued by the distribution or transmission system operator specifying the technical details related to connecting a RES installation and constituting the operator’s commitment to sign a grid connection agreement with the investor, based on which the RES installation will be connected to the grid. The connection conditions thus enable a “temporary reservation of space in the grid” for a given RES installation.

The application is submitted to the distribution or transmission system operator who owns the grid to which the investor intends to connect the installation.

The application typically includes the following elements:

• identification of the applicant, including their address;
• content of the request, i.e. issuance of grid connection conditions for a specific RES installation project;
• specification of the maximum annual amount of electricity generated and the amount delivered to the grid;
• specification of installed, available, dispatchable and apparent power of generation units, as well as maximum power as defined in Article 2(16) of Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/631 of 14 April 2016 establishing a network code on requirements for grid connection of generators;
• specification of the permissible range of load changes for generation units or their groups;
• specification of the number of generation units to be connected;
• specification of the planned demand for power and electricity to cover the producer’s own needs;
• degree of reactive power compensation related to the consumption of active electricity for the producer’s own needs;
• degree of reactive power compensation related to the injection of generated electricity into the grid;
• expected values of electrical parameters of the grid and transformers included in the installation and devices of the RES installation;
• specification of the minimum power consumption required to ensure the safety of persons and property under Article 11(6) of the Energy Law in case of restrictions in electricity supply and consumption;
• technical information on disturbances caused by the applicant’s devices, installations and networks, and load characteristics necessary to determine connection conditions, in the case of entities classified in connection groups I–IV.

• extract and drawing from the local spatial development plan (MPZP), or if such a plan is not available, the zoning and land development decision for the property specified in the application;
• document confirming the investor’s legal title to use the property where the planned RES installation indicated in the application is to be located;
• development plan on a situational and elevation map, specifying the location of the connected facility in relation to the existing grid;
• certification confirming the technical parameters, operational and performance characteristics of the connected devices, installations or networks;
• single-line electrical diagram of the connected devices, installations or networks, along with their description.

After the investor submits the Application for Issuance of Conditions for Connection to the Electricity Grid, the operator analyzes whether there are technical and economic possibilities to connect the generation unit. Technical reasons are most often associated with the availability of connection capacity at the connection point – the operator examines whether it is possible to safely deliver energy through the grid, even under extreme load conditions.

For RES installations with a capacity greater than 2 MW, the operator ensures the preparation of an expert opinion on the impact of the examined facility on the electricity system.

As part of the economic criteria, the operator examines the availability of financial resources for the grid expansion required to connect the RES installation.

• up to 120 days from the date of submission by an applicant classified in connection group III or VI – for a facility connected to a grid with voltage higher than 1 kV equipped with a source or electricity storage;
• up to 150 days from the date of submission by an applicant classified in connection group I or II.

• lack of technical connection conditions resulting from insufficient transmission capacity of the grid within the timeframe proposed by the entity applying for connection – the energy company specifies the planned date and conditions for the necessary expansion or modernization of the grid, as well as the connection date;
• lack of economic conditions – the energy company may conclude a grid connection agreement specifying the connection fee agreed with the entity applying for connection;
• lack of both technical and economic conditions – the construction and expansion of grid sections serving to connect installations belonging to the entity applying for connection may be ensured by the applicant in agreement with the energy company.

The conditions for connection remain valid for 2 years from the date of their delivery.

During the validity period, the conditions for connection constitute a conditional obligation of the electricity transmission or distribution company to conclude a grid connection agreement.

Within 14 days from submitting the application to the operator, the investor is required to pay an advance towards the issuance of the conditions for connection to the electricity grid. The amount is PLN 30 gross per each kW of requested connection capacity (applicable to grids with voltage above 1 kV).

The advance payment may not exceed PLN 3,000,000.
If the operator refuses to issue the conditions for connection, the advance is refunded to the investor’s account.
If the conditions for connection are granted, the advance is credited towards the connection fee.

After signing the grid connection agreement, the connection costs incurred by the investor, in the case of RES installations with an installed electrical capacity not exceeding 5 MW, amount to 50% of the total cost of connection implementation (excluding prosumer installations).
For installations exceeding 5 MW, the investor is required to cover 100% of the connection implementation costs.

In the event of a refusal to issue the conditions for connection, the investor may submit an application for review to the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) pursuant to Article 8 of the Energy Law.
Decisions issued by the President of URE may be appealed to the Regional Court in Warsaw – Division of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection, pursuant to Article 30(2) of the Energy Law.

Most operators allow the Application for Issuance of Conditions for Connection to the Electricity Grid to be submitted electronically via dedicated online application forms.

Electricity Grid Connection Agreement

The Electricity Grid Connection Agreement constitutes the legal basis for connecting a RES installation to the electricity grid. It is a contract concluded between the distribution or transmission system operator and the investor, which establishes the obligation to carry out connection works for the generation source, in accordance with the technical specifications defined in the conditions for connection to the electricity grid.

To implement this task, both parties undertake to perform works aimed at connecting the generation source to the distribution grid. Any necessary reconstruction or replacement of grid components is carried out in accordance with the provisions specified in the conditions for connection.

RES installations are granted preferential access to the grid. The grid operator, provided that technical and economic conditions allow, is obliged to conclude an Electricity Grid Connection Agreement with a RES installation as a priority. Furthermore, the legislator’s preference for connecting RES installations to the grid is reflected in the reduction of the connection fee for such sources to only half of the actual connection costs incurred by the operator.

Deadline for fulfilling obligations under the Electricity Grid Connection Agreement

In the case of Electricity Grid Connection Agreements for RES installations, the deadline for the first delivery of electricity from the connected generation source must not exceed 48 months. Failure to deliver electricity within this period may result in termination of the agreement in accordance with the provisions of the Energy Law.

Securing the connection route

One of the most important elements of the Electricity Grid Connection Agreement is the indication of the grid connection point, i.e. the location where electricity generated by the RES installation will be injected into the distribution or transmission grid.

If the grid connection point is located outside the investor’s plot, the investor is responsible for constructing the section of the electricity connection line that links the RES installation to the grid connection point. In such cases, it is necessary to obtain legal titles to the properties located along the route of the electricity connection line.

The method of securing legal titles to properties along the cable route depends on whether the connection line runs through plots designated as roads (with or without public road status), or through privately owned properties.

Privately owned property

The most commonly obtained legal title for using privately owned land where the cable route is to be located is the transmission easement. This entitles the owner of the transmission equipment – the investor developing the RES installation project, whether planning to build or having already built the transmission infrastructure – to use the property by placing transmission equipment on it and operating it. The transmission easement is a limited property right that is effective against any future owner of the property on which the equipment is to be located. It is established in the form of a notarial deed and is disclosed in the land and mortgage register. It may be established either for a fee or free of charge, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.

Property designated as a public road

In the case of properties with the status of a public road, the legal title to use the land is regulated under the Public Roads Act, particularly Articles 39 and 40. Obtaining the legal title to use such property involves several stages. The first is obtaining an administrative ruling issued under Article 39(3) and (3a) of the Public Roads Act, granted by the road administrator, which authorizes the location of construction facilities or equipment within the road lane that are not related to road management or traffic needs.

Subsequently, under Article 40(1) and (2) of the Public Roads Act, a decision is issued permitting the occupation of the road lane for the purpose of: carrying out construction works and placing technical infrastructure equipment within the road lane that is not related to road management or traffic needs. The decision permitting occupation of the road lane for construction works is issued for a period ranging from several to a dozen days and authorizes physical access to the property to carry out construction works.

The decision permitting the placement of equipment within the road lane is issued for a period of several or even several dozen years and constitutes the legal title for placing the equipment. Importantly, fees are charged both for occupying the road lane to carry out construction works and for placing technical infrastructure equipment within the road lane. The first is a one-time fee, while the second is an annual fee.

Road property without public road status

In the case of municipal internal roads that do not have the status of public roads, there is no unified procedure for securing the cable route. Municipalities usually issue informal permissions, not in the form of administrative decisions, expressing consent to the location of equipment – this serves as an equivalent to the administrative ruling issued under Article 39(3) and (3a) of the Public Roads Act. Subsequently, they conclude an agreement with the investor for the use of the property in exchange for an annual fee – this serves as an equivalent to the decision issued under Article 40(1) and (2) of the Public Roads Act.

Another way to secure rights to such land is to establish the transmission easement mentioned earlier.

Other legal titles

The legal titles described above for securing the cable route are not the only ones used in legal practice. Other forms such as lease agreements or unnamed contracts structured similarly to lease agreements may also be encountered. Unfortunately, these are not as durable or secure as the legal titles described above.