Energy Transformation – a great idea, a weak narrative? – In conversation with Miłosz Motyka, Minister of Energy

A year before the parliamentary elections, the Ministry of Energy must reconcile the need to accelerate strategic investments with rising fuel prices and a blocked source of financing for protective shields. During the 35th Economic Forum in Karpacz, Minister of Energy explained which projects are realistic to implement in the coming months and which will have to wait. The key question of the debate was: does the Polish transformation still have a realistic schedule, or does it remain solely in the sphere of declarations? The conversation was led by Dominik Brodacki, head of the energy department at Polityka Insight.

Key acts still this year

Minister of Energy Miłosz Motyka pointed to the act accelerating investments in the energy sector as an absolute priority. He argued that without a radical reduction in administrative procedures and decision-making processes, the transformation will not be carried out on time. “The dynamics of climate change and technological progress in the world are rapidly accelerating, which is why our procedures cannot lag behind,” emphasized the head of the ministry.

The new regulations are to cover both generation units as well as transmission and distribution infrastructure. A special team consisting of representatives of the Ministries of Energy and State Assets is already working on the project, cooperating closely with companies from the sector. The minister declared that the draft act will be submitted for government consideration still this year.

The next step is to be a reform of the regulations on gas and oil reserves. The ministry is moving away from the model of a single, gigantic regulation, which in the past provoked resistance from the sector and was vetoed. In the liquid fuels area, two separate acts will be created: the so-called “three-field system” (which will soon go to the Council of Ministers) and reserve regulations planned for the following months. Motyka also announced record investment plans of PSE and Gaz-System, as well as the development of the concept of a regional gas hub. This topic is to be one of the pillars of the upcoming USA–Europe energy partnership summit in Warsaw, and its goal is the permanent displacement of Russian raw materials from Central and Eastern Europe.

Market liberalization and support for industry

The host questioned the plans to liberalize gas storage rules. The minister admitted that the ministry is considering such a model, and proof of the gradual opening of the market is the capacity reservation in the second floating FSRU terminal in Gdańsk by entities other than the current, dominant player. The next step is to be the act on the exchange obligation, which after the consultation stage and analysis of comments will go to parliament in the autumn. Although the minister assessed this reform as difficult, he stressed that it is essential for building a competitive market and ultimately lowering the prices of blue fuel.

Among the ministry’s successes, Motyka also mentioned real support for the energy-intensive industry. Thanks to the new tariff regulation, which entered into force last Saturday, the sector is to save as much as half a billion PLN.

Dispute over windfall tax and blocked billions

The draft implementing the EU CISAF framework, combined with a temporary increase in CIT for fuel and energy groups, turned out to be a hot point of the debate. Dominik Brodacki formulated an accusation that the state is draining capital from entities that urgently need funds for modernization. The minister firmly rejected this thesis. He explained that the windfall tax will cover exclusively large, international oil corporations, while the beneficiaries of the support will be other companies, including private entities. “In such an extraordinary geopolitical situation, fuel corporations should solidarily pay a higher tax,” argued Motyka.

This thread smoothly transitioned into a discussion on fuel and gas prices for citizens. The head of the energy ministry reminded that the government aimed to extend the protective package “CPN” until the end of the year. However, the situation was complicated by the fact that the president referred the act of July 3, 2026, on the tax on extraordinary profits from the sale of liquid fuels to the Constitutional Tribunal. This move blocked 4 billion PLN, which was to directly finance the protective measures. “In the 2026 budget, it was impossible to foresee the sudden escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, and yet we allocated 5 billion PLN for protection programs. At this moment, due to the president’s decision, there is no space for a new package. We expect the Constitutional Tribunal to deal with this matter as quickly as possible,” declared the minister.

Asked about an alternative windfall tax project – this time without the controversial retroactivity principle – Motyka declared that the new rate could correspond to the 60% cap developed in the Sejm on revenue surplus above the reference margin, but it would apply exclusively to the future. He announced broad market consultations on this matter.

Atom and power market under control

In the corridors of the Forum, considerable interest was aroused by negotiations with the European Commission regarding the new power market. The minister limited himself to a communication that the talks are going in a good direction, are extremely productive, and details of the upcoming auctions will be announced within the next few months. In Motyka’s assessment, a clear shift in thinking and full understanding of the specifics of the Polish mix is visible in Brussels – both regarding the power market and the ETS system reform.

At the end of the conversation, the crucial topic of nuclear energy was touched upon. The minister confirmed that the deadline for closing the negotiations of the EPC contract with American partners by the end of the year remains valid, although he admitted that the talks are sometimes difficult. He considered the maximum involvement of domestic companies and the building of a national supply chain as the foundation of the project’s success. He also announced that the government is not abandoning plans to build a second nuclear power plant, and the media tensions around the talks with the Americans he considered heavily blown out of proportion by the press.

Summarizing his current goals, Miłosz Motyka indicated that the legacy he would like to leave behind is, above all, a systemic ordering of the conditions for connecting new sources to the grid and the instant implementation of the maximum price mechanism on the fuel market.

The debate at the Economic Forum showed that the pace of investments and the stability of law remain the greatest challenges of the Polish energy sector today. The main axis of dispute between the publicist and the minister remained the assessment of the windfall tax: the industry sees in it a risk of draining investment funds, while the ministry defends it as a fair tool of redistribution in times of global crisis.