Polish net power imports reach record high in June

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.