polskA
EnerGIA
No 2 | February 2010
tauron group corporate magazine
ISSN 1689-5304
Tauron sponsors the Polish Olympic Team | Struggling against adverse weather | The EU needs a new strategy
power
Struggling against
adverse weather
F
rom the latest issue of “Polska
Energia” we recommend the interview with Vice Environment Minister
Bernard Błaszczyk in which he comments on the EU’s efforts to reduce the
amount of carbon dioxide emissions
and the prospects for the reduction of
emissions by Poland.
The EU will definitely carry on with the
program of reduction of CO2 emissions as outlined in the Climate and
Energy Package, though these efforts
shall not make it possible to achieve
the ultimate aim of reducing the emissions on a global scale, unless the
program is joined by other world leaders in terms of the amounts of carbon
dioxide produced. What the EU needs
now is a new strategy for international
negotiations over climate policy. Being the sole leader in preventing the
climate change did not prove sufficiently effective. Therefore, the EU
should now focus on strengthening its
own economy and taking measures
to improve the efficiency of its energy
sector. A unilateral and unconditional
2 polska EnerGIA no 2 (16)/2010
acceptance of the obligation to reduce
the CO2 emissions by 30 percent of the
level from 1990 until the year 2020
would imply that EU energy producers
would be forced to adopt yet more restrictive approach towards CO2 emissions. If other developed countries do
not take up similar responsibilities, the
EU’s position on the international markets may be negatively affected, as the
EU may become less competitive than
other world economies. A very important aspect of the climate policy is the
financial package, offering support for
the development and implementation
of technologies reducing, or even eliminating, CO2 emissions from energy
production based on coal, which may
provide for the EU’s energy demand for
the next few decades. In fact, energy
security of both Poland and the rest of
EU countries require that the coal extraction levels and the share of coal in
total energy production are maintained.
Poland does not belong to the leading
emitters of carbon dioxide. Yes, we do
have coal fueled electric power plants,
which are the main sources of CO2
emissions, however, when calculated
in terms of the amount of emissions
per citizen, our emissions are not that
high at all. Emissions can be reduced
in majority of economy sectors, however, not in all of them would it be justifiable on financial grounds. It should
also be remembered that the reduction requires both money and time.
According to McKinsey’s calculations,
it is unlikely that by the year 2020 CO2
emissions should fall by more than 3
percent. Of course, it is necessary to
reduce CO2 emissions on the global
scale; however, we must remember
that the time needed to achieve this
will be longer in the developing than
in the developed countries, and that
a long term strategy for the reduction
of emissions will be of key importance
for the implementation of sustainable
development policy.
The EU Needs a New Strategy for Energy Policy, Emil Różański’s interview
with Bernard Błaszczyk, vice Environment Minister, p. 6
O
n 12-28 February the 21st Winter Olympic Games take place
in Vancouver. Poland is represented
by a team of 47 players. Tauron Polska Energia company has joined the
Polish Olympic Committee to support
its operation and help in the preparation of the Polish team for the Olympic Games in Vancouver, as part of
the project “Vancouver 2010”. President of the Board of Directors of
Tauron Polska Energia Dariusz Lubera emphasized that it is a great honour for the company to be part of the
Olympic Family. The sponsoring of
the operation of the Polish Olympic
Committee and the team is part of
Tauron’s strategy of Communication,
whose priority objective is to express
and support all manifestations of
“positive energy”.
Tauron sponsors the Polish Olympic
Team, p. 22
n Friday, 8 January, Jura Krakowsko-Czestochowska region suffered
heavy rainfalls, which, combined with the
low temperatures and snow, resulted in
a layer of frost covering the streets, buildings and trees. A layer of frozen water
and snow formed also on energy transfer
lines and power poles. It is quite rare that
a large area like this remains affected by
adverse weather conditions for so long.
Elements of energy infrastructure were
damaged by the heavy loads of accumulated ice and snow and fallen trees. When
the situation was at its worst, the number of households cut off from energy
supplies reached 112,000. 2313 sn/NN
transfer stations were destroyed and 148
medium voltage lines were either destroyed or damaged. Damage was done also
to the most important parts of the local
energy transfer networks. Energy services
were in operation all the time. Extra brigades were transferred from other parts
of the country to help restore the lines,
many of which were damaged again after
they had been repaired. On 20 January,
99 destroyed power poles were replaced,
but 64 other ones were damaged. The
problems were especially acute in the
northern parts of Śląskie and Małopolskie provinces, above all, in the myszkowski, częstochowski, kłobucki, lubliniecki,
zawierciański, olkuski and krakowski
districts. The energy operator company
employed extra staff and equipment from
its departments all over Poland, and cal-
led for help from other energy companies
and companies from other sectors. The
weather, with continuing snowfall and
frost reaching the temperature of -20°C,
was constantly interfering with the work
of the electricians. The number of people
struggling to restore the energy transfers
oscillated between 1300 and 1600. More
than 600 pieces of heavy equipment
were employed, including lorries, cranes,
loaders and lifts. The huge effort and
amount of resources made it possible to
gradually restore energy supplies to local
villages and towns. Even in cities such as
Wałbrzych, Wrocław and Jelenia Góra,
there were a number of occurrences
which temporarily discontinued energy
supplies. Since Saturday 9 January, several thousands of households in Opolskie
and Lower Silesia have been cut off from
energy supplies as well. The technical
services of EnergiaPro company were
immediately activated and employed in
restoring the supplies over the weekend
and the first half of the following week,
despite the strongly adverse weather
conditions. Even on Sunday morning on
10 January, many technicians were at
work repairing the damaged lines. They
remained at the site until late night and
on Monday 11 January the number of
households without access to energy supplies decreased to 3,000.
Struggling against adverse weather, Ewa
Groń, Katarzyna Bajor, Joanna Jaźwa,
p. 10
PHOTO: ENION
The EU Needs a New Strategy
for Energy Policy
Tauron
sponsors
the Polish
Olympic
Team
PHOTO: © VANOC/COVAN
PHOTO: Press Arch.
PHOTO: Szymon Sikora
O
polska EnerGIA no 2 (16)/2010 3
PHOTO: EAST NEWS
power
Predicting seismic shocks
I
n the 1970s seismologists believed that it is possible to predict
the occurrence of earthquakes. Indeed, this was the period when
a lot was being done to investigate the structure of the Earth.
But the more was discovered, the more complicated the picture
appeared. Tectonic plates, considered to be the main factor responsible for the occurrence of earthquakes, turned out to be so
unpredictable in their behavior that the scientists began to lose
hope that they might reliably predict when and where they are
going to move again. Of course, it has already been established
in which parts of the Earth the movements occur most frequently;
these are the narrow parts of land and sea beds where the plates,
rocky structures, a few dozens of kilometers thick, meet at their
edges. Today, seismographers tend to assume a more realistic
point of view; they no longer claim that it might be possible to
predict the exact location and moment of the next earthquake
with all certainty. Still, they can estimate the probability of these
occurrences in a given place and time, and know that they are
to be taken seriously. New items are constantly being added to
the list of cities endangered by earthquakes. Only a few of them
are located in highly developed countries, like, for example, San
Francisco, Athens and Tokyo. It may happen that about 500,000
people can be killed by a single seismic shock. Under serious
threat are, for example, the capital of Iran – Teheran, the capital of Ecuador – Quito, the capital of Nepal – Kathmandu, and
a number of Chinese cities.
Predicting seismic shocks, Andrzej Hołdys, p. 28
T
his year’s winter season will see
a wide range of promotional activity directed to support the development
and popularization of alpine skiing in
Poland. Tauron Polska Energia will sponsor a project called TAURON PRO SKI,
which will be co-organized by the Polish
Ski Club and Family Cup, the organizer
of the most important events for amateur
skiers. Involvement in the project was
also declared by the most famous alpine
skier and winner of the World Championships in alpine skiing, Andrzej Bachleda-Curuś. The aims of the project are to
promote the discipline in Poland, raise the
standards of Polish alpine skiing centres,
and elevate Polish alpine skiing to the
4 polska EnerGIA no 2 (16)/2010
level comparable to that enjoyed by the
discipline in other European countries. In
order to support and promote young alpine skiers, Andrzej Bachleda-Curuś has
created a training scheme called Tauron
Energy Ski Cup. The scheme is targeted
at young alpine skiers, born between the
years 1995-1998. The young skiers will
be invited to participate in contests and
championships organized in cooperation with Sport Championship Schools
(in particular, the Sport Championship
School in Zakopane) and the Polish Ski
Club. Tauron ProSki will also include
the organization of Tauron Family Cup
championships, an event with 15 years
long tradition, inviting skiers not admit-
PHOTO: BE&W
Polish Alpine Skiers
should reach for medals
ted to participate in events organized by
the Polish Ski Club.
Polish Alpine Skiers should reach for
medals, Andrzej Bachleda, p. 30