The effective implementation of such a large scale of line investments, involving the need to acquire the legal deeds to thousands of properties on which gas networks are built (this does not apply to the PSG gas pipelines covered by the Terminal Special Act), is an organizational and legal challenge not only for the company. It should be highlighted that in order to simplify and accelerate the process of preparing some of the PSG investments, the legislator decided to include them in the Act of 24 April 2009 on investments in the liquefied natural gas regasification terminal in Świnoujście (hereinafter the special act). As a result, 28 PSG gas pipelines (9 in the 2019 amendment and 19 in the next amendment from 2021) were added to the list of investments supporting investments in the terminal, and the possibility was introduced that the Company can make connections and build gas pipelines to generating units or cogeneration to produce electricity or heat. After more than two and a half years of experience with the implementation of that regulation, it is safe to conclude that in extreme cases it allowed us to complete the process of preparing the PSG investment within a year, which took 12 years and 3 months without the special act.
Notwithstanding the simplifications introduced, such a large scale of construction work can be performed thanks to the involvement of numerous design agencies cooperating with our company, as well as the contractors and suppliers who are selected for these projects in a transparent and competitive tender process. The effective implementation of such a sizable portfolio of investment tasks, constituting public purpose investments, is also possible thanks to the understanding and willing cooperation from the state administration, property owners, road managers, State Forest Directorate, railroad area managers, representatives of the State Water Company Wody Polskie, local communities, and other beneficiaries, whose consent for the use of the real estate is obtained at the stage of preparing project documentation.
Our company’s cooperation with local government units from the province level to the poviat and municipal levels is also extremely important, not only in activities resulting from the construction process, but also in terms of assessing the potential of the end-user market and cooperating with industrial investors looking for investment areas fitted with technical infrastructure. Our partner companies in the gas trade who commission us with distribution service are of key importance in acquiring new customers.
Apart from the energy infrastructure, investment in gas distribution networks involves sewage, water supply, telecommunications and communication infrastructure, and the necessary elements of infrastructure which are essential to meet the communal, living, and economic needs that contribute to the improvement of living conditions and the economic development of the country.
Additionally, due to the EU air quality requirements (IED, MCP directives), stricter emission standards, which should be met within a specific time limit, have been imposed on large- and medium-sized fuel combustion sources, As the replacement of solid fossil fuels with gas is one of the most advantageous solutions (also in economic terms), we have recently observed an increased interest from the energy and heating sector in connecting to the PSG distribution network.
