Polish net power imports reached a record high in June as generation and demand in the country continued to decline.
Poland imported nearly 1.5TWh in net terms in June (see table), breaking its previous monthly record — set only one month before — by nearly 20pc. Overall in the first half of 2020 Poland imported more than 6.5TWh in net terms, a more than 40pc increase on the year.
In gross terms Poland imported more than 1.8TWh in June. Polish physical exports were 325GWh in June, a decline of 28pc both on the year and on the month.
Polish demand remained weak, falling by 7pc on the year to just over 12.5TWh in June. Consumption in January-June was more than 5pc down on the year at 80.6TWh, the lowest since 2015.
The slump in Polish generation continued for the fourth month in a row as output fell by 11pc on the year to just over 11TWh. Coal-fired generation declined most, although lignite and wind power output also fell. But generation by other renewables — solar and biomass — surged by about 20 times on the year to 249GWh. Poland's installed solar capacity connected to the grid rose by 175pc on the year to more than 2.1GW as of 1 July.
Polish generation fell by nearly 8pc on the year to 74TWh in the first half of 2020, the lowest level in January-June since at least 2005.
| Polish power balance | ||||
| June 2020 (GWh) | ±% | H1 2020 (GWh) | ±% | |
| Total production | 11,045 | -11.2 | 74,093 | -7.9 |
| Hydro | 264 | 16.5 | 1,392 | -9.0 |
| Coal | 5,061 | -21.5 | 33,835 | -13.5 |
| Lignite | 3,343 | -6.1 | 18,669 | -12.9 |
| Gas | 859 | 11.6 | 6,633 | 16.9 |
| Other renewable | 249 | 1 943.8 | 829 | 310.9 |
| Wind | 585 | -15.5 | 7,859 | 7.0 |
| Industrial Power | 683 | -5.7 | 4,876 | -5.3 |
| Net import/export | 1,487 | 43.8 | 6,547 | 42.6 |
| Total consumption | 12,532 | -7.0 | 80,640 | -5.2 |
| — PSE | ||||
