By creating a high-performance energy grid linking Poland to Lithuania, the investment supports a critical part of the EU’s energy network – linking the three Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to the EU’s electrical grid; the project will also enhance the provision and security of supply in north-east Poland.
- 16 December 2014
The project has two components – firstly, it concerns the recently modernised Miłosna-Narew line (400 kV), adding a further 70 kilometres of high-capacity electricity line. The line will also link the Poland Lithuania line to the Kozienice-Sielce Ujrzanów line. Secondly, the project also involves the construction of a 400 kB power station at Siedlce Ujrzanów.
Local benefits
At a local level, the main beneficiaries of the infrastructure improvements will be individual consumers in the north-east Poland area. The local economy and business is also expected to benefit from more efficient, high-performing and reliable electricity supplies. It is anticipated that the construction of the line and power station will create nearly 50 jobs, with further benefits for the regional economy as a whole.
The national grid in north east Poland will be upgraded as a direct result of the investment, enabling renewable energy producers to connect new generating units to the electrical grid. By improving access to infrastructure and ensuring that the grid is open in this way to new greener sources of energy, Poland will find it easier to meet its renewable energy targets.
Trans-European energy networks
The Poland Lithuania link is part of a wider project under the trans-European energy network, comprising 18 investments, linking the Baltic Ring countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). The Commission’s objective is that this electricity network and eight others are completed by 2020, helping to make the Europe’s electricity markets operate more effectively. For Poland and the Baltic states, energy security and supply are major concerns. Indeed, the new infrastructure helps to integrate these countries in the EU’s wider energy network and reduces dependency on the Russian electricity grid.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Construction of the Miłosna – Siedlce Ujrzanów line and construction of the station at Siedlce Ujrzanów – as part of the Poland Lithuania power link project” is EUR 72 967 621. The EU’s European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 32 712 010 from the Operational Programme “Infrastructure and Environment” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period, under the priority axis “Energy security, including diversification of energy sources”.