Forum Energii has published the first edition of its report Heating Sector Transition in Poland. 2025 Edition, which will now be published in English annually. The document shows that heating—encompassing both district heating systems and individual heating—constitutes the second-largest energy sector in Poland, crucial not only for air quality but also for the country’s energy security, fuel balance, and the reduction of raw material imports. The effectiveness of the heat generation transition will determine not only the burden on household budgets, but also the future of several hundred heating plants operating across Poland. The price crisis of recent years has shown that the sector’s challenges extend well beyond smog to include rising heating costs and slow technological modernisation. The Forum Energii report is intended to serve as a comprehensive knowledge base for the heating sector and as a support for the development of a coherent, long-term strategy for the industry.
In successive iterations of Poland’s Energy Policy, district heating has been treated as the “younger sibling” of the power sector, lacking a clearly defined vision and strategic objectives, beyond routine cost control and the oft-repeated refrain of doubling electricity generation through cogeneration. Today, the sector has finally appeared on policymakers’ radar, unfortunately not due to spectacular successes, but as a result of the price crisis and the sharp rise in heating costs. The war in Ukraine, fuel price volatility, and abrupt increases in CO₂ emission allowance prices have laid bare its vulnerabilities. The sector’s sensitivity to geopolitical and price risks stems primarily from its heavy reliance on fossil fuels and the slow pace of modernisation towards low-emission technologies.
– comments Andrzej Rubczyński, District Heating Programme Advisor at Forum Energii.
A Fossil Fuel–Based Sector
Unprofitability and Outdated Tariff Mechanisms
Individual Heating–Special Attention Required
The heating allowance currently under design is intended to protect households from sudden price increases. It is a necessary solution, although it must be carefully monitored. The subsidy mitigates the effects, but does not address the underlying problem, namely the low energy efficiency of many buildings and dependence on fossil fuels.
– adds Piotr Kleinschmidt, Director of the Heating Programme at Forum Energii.
