Our network infrastructure also includes a 450 kV submarine cable line with a length of 127 km. The length of the entire line connecting Poland with Sweden is 254 km.
ECONOMIC AND MARKET IMPACTMaintenance of the transmission network
The transmission grid owned by PSE consists of 15,892 km of extra-high voltage lines and 110 power substations. We maintain the technical condition and operating system of the network to meet applicable requirements. The level of availability of our network facilities largely determines the operational security of the entire system.
The condition of the transmission network is confirmed by the high combined availability index for transmission facilities (DYSU), which reached 99.72 percent in 2022 with reference value ≥ 97.5 percent.
Worth knowing
Availability index for transmission facilities - DYSU - is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the values of the availability indices of 5 groups of transmission equipment including groups of lines and transformers installed at our substations.
The availability of each group of these facilities is calculated as the ratio of the actual operating hours of the transmission facilities (in hours) per year to the nominal number of hours per year.
The DYSU index is intended to monitor the readiness of transmission network elements to provide electricity transmission service and takes into account the availability of the 5 groups of transmission facilities listed below:
- Category L1 lines – international, radial and 400 kV lines with a peak load of over 300 MW, and 220 kV lines with a peak load of over 170 MW;
- Category L2 lines ─ other lines not mentioned in points 1 and 3;
- LB power unit lines – power output lines from power plants (connecting power plants with large near-plant substations);
- Transformers in category S11 substations – transformers in substations with interconnections to the systems of other countries, in near-plant substations and in substations coupling 400 kV and 220 kV grids;
- Transformers in category S22 substations – transformers in other substations not mentioned in point 4.
Monitoring of the transmission network
Conducting monitoring of the operation and technical condition of the transmission grid
Maintaining network assets requires the performance of ongoing monitoring of the operation and technical condition of various components in the transmission grid. The following operations monitoring services were set up for this task within the structures of the Operations Department: Monitoring Centre (CN) in Konstancin-Jeziorna and five Regional Monitoring Centres (RCN) at the head offices of branch divisions in Warsaw, Radom, Katowice, Poznań and Bydgoszcz. The monitoring services model has a hierarchical structure. The Regional Monitoring Centres functionally report to the Monitoring Centre and are responsible for a designated area of PSE's network assets.
Fig. Organization of PSE S.A.'s operations monitoring services.
As many as 85 of the 110 power substations owned by PSE are controlled and monitored remotely. This allows switching operations to be performed from KDM/ODM/CN/RCN master centers, improving the operation of the Polish Power System. Substations are gradually being brought up to the standard of remotely controlled and monitored facilities as part of the modernization. In facilities not deemed to be remotely controlled and monitored, all operational activities are carried out by ZES.
Warehouse management as an environmentally friendly initiative in line with the concept of a circular economy
Warehouse management at PSE primarily prevents the generation of a large amount of waste. This is achieved through, among other things:
- warehousing of dismantled operable equipment; where dismantling involves operable equipment, the equipment is transferred for storage in a warehouse reserve, to be reused for troubleshooting or ongoing repairs;
- refurbishment of inoperable equipment. Once a failure or a fault has occurred, inoperable equipment is dismantled and, where possible, examined and sent for refurbishment. After refurbishment, the equipment is transferred to the warehouse reserve as operational and reusable.
In cases where equipment or materials have become obsolete and the company has decided not to carry out the refurbishment, tenders are organized for appropriate waste management. Insulating medium in equipment is often a hazardous waste according to the Waste Act. For this reason, PSE as the generator is responsible for the waste until its final disposal.
PSE actively participates in the national BDO system (Database on Products and Packaging and Waste Management) and fulfils all obligations in this regard on an ongoing basis. This allowed the development of an effective tool for all participants in the waste management process.
Waste management is carried out by transferring waste to third-party companies that have the necessary licenses and decisions required by law.
PSE verifies the licenses of third-party entities performing waste management work. The amount of waste generated depends on the extent of operational work carried out on the power grid, modernization of lines and substations, the occurrence of failures.
Most of the waste generated at the company is metal waste, which is subject to recovery (steel, aluminum, copper).
Our activities are in line with the concept of a circular economy, which makes the warehouse management process an indirectly environmentally friendly activity.
Key figures:
storage locations of PSE: 2 in Radom and Bydgoszcz and 1 in: Warsaw, Katowice and Poznań,
storage depots all over the country.
The following were released from the warehouse for the operation process:
pieces of materials or equipment,
metres of working and operating cables, 36 sets of foundations.