The implementation of TAURON Group’s Strategy in 2022
TAURON Capital Group’s focuses on the implementation of the designated priorities and strategic directions as key for building TAURON’s value. The sustainable transition of TAURON Capital Group is implemented, first and foremost, through the investments in the renewable energy sources (RES) and the decarbonization process under way.
Implementation of Priority #1 – Sustainable Operations
with respect to the expansion of renewable energy sources and the reduction of emissions, the following activities were carried out in 2022:
- a total of 44 MW of renewable capacity was commissioned (a 30 MW Piotrków wind farm and a 6 MW Majewo wind farm, as well as an 8 MW Choszczno II PV farm), the decisions on going ahead with the implementation of RES projects with a total capacity of 224 MW were taken,
- preparations to take part in the offshore wind farm construction projects were under way. In September 2022, TAURON acquired a stake in PGE Baltica 4 from PGE. In April 2022, TAURON Group’s special purpose vehicles filed applications for the issuing of permits for the erection or use of artificial islands in the Ławica Odrzana area. At the beginning of 2023, PGE Baltica 4 was granted a permit to erect and use artificial islands,
- works were commenced to prepare a comprehensive program to modernize and improve the efficiency of the in-house hydroelectric power plants, the following investment projects were launched: the construction of a small 2 MW hydroelectric power plant in Rożnów and the installation of a turbine at the Lubachów Hydroelectric Power Plant using biological flow,
- With respect to the transition of the district heating towards the low- and zero-emission sources, the following projects are being prepared: the energy transition of ZW Katowice and the construction of a PV farm, along with an energy storage facility for the needs of ZW Bielsko-Biała EC1. The projects at the implementation stage include: the construction of a 140 MWt gas fired boiler at ZW Katowice for the needs of the district heating market and the construction of a peaking and back-up boiler plant at ZW Bielsko-Biała EC-2.
The move towards decarbonisation
As part of TAURON Group’s efforts to decarbonize, in 2022 and until the date of drawing up this report, the following activities had been carried out:
- as part of the implementation of the Letter of Intent signed with the State Treasury in 2021, ownership roght to 100% of the shares of TAURON Wydobycie were transferred to the State Treasury on December 31, 2022,
- the assumptions of the Government’s NABE Concept were implemented, in particular:
- an internal reorganization was carried out at TAURON Group – The detailed information on the organizational changes at the Group is provided in Section 1.3 of The Management Board report.
- Vendor Due Diligence of TAURON Wytwarzanie and New Jaworzno Group TAURON (this subsidiary was taken over by TAURON Wytwarzanie, the registration of the merger took place on October 3, 2022) was carried out in 2022 in three key areas, established for all of the energy groups: legal, taxes and financials as well as the technical and environmental issues. Due to the ongoing updates and supplementing of the review – it was continued in 2023, the finalization of the acceptance of the reports from the review is under way,
- in accordance with the assumptions of the Government’s NABE Concept, TAURON selected and began working with a consultant on the preparation of the valuations, the works on asset valuation are in progress,
- analyses were conducted and the representatives of TAURON Group were taking part in the works on the development of the next iterations of the market scenario and the financial model for the Ministry of State Assets (MAP) and the banks,
- On December 22, 2022, the Social Contract was concluded between the representatives of the government (represented by the Ministry of State Assets), the representatives of the Employers (the energy groups) and the workforce on the transition of the power sector and the lignite mining industry, including the spin-off of the coal based generation and mining assets out of the state owned companies (Social Contract).
In March 2023, the Ministry of State Assets submitted for consultation a draft act on the social protection for the employees of the power sector and the lignite mining industry.
The submission of the draft act fulfills the obligations for the introduction of a system of social protection for the employees of the power sector and the lignite mining enterprises that the Government of the Republic of Poland assumed in the Social Contract of December 22, 2022. According to the draft law, the total cost of the cash benefits – i.e., the social benefits and one time cash severance payments – will be borne by the State Treasury, providing budget subsidies to cover them – in the period up to and including December 31, 2053.
Work on innovative solutions
The following works on the innovative solutions to support TAURON Group’s transition were conducted in 2022:
- works on the development and implementation of the energy storage technologies through the implementation of such projects as: Microgrid Project, Virtual Power Plant Project, ESS Cieszanowice Project, Small Energy Storage Facilities in the Low Voltage Grid, Energy Storage Facility in Ochotnica Dolna, Second Life ESS, e-BUS Project,
- preparations for the construction of the Rożnów II pumped storage power plant (planning of the investment process),
- works related to the development of the projects with respect to the production and the use of green hydrogen as well as the production of ammonia from green hydrogen,
- works related to the preparation of TAURON Group to participate in the development of the nuclear energy, a Letter of Intent was signed on the cooperation between TAURON and KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. (KGHM Polska Miedź) with respect to the SMR technology.
Implementation of Priority #2 – Growth based on the largest customer base
The most important activities implemented in the Distribution Line of Business, affecting the improvement of the quality parameters, are as follows:
- increasing the degree of grid automation (in 2022, the number of the remotely controlled switches per 100 km of MV overhead line had increased to 13),
- upgrading the existing grids to the insulated overhead lines and cable lines (as of the end of 2022, more than 40% of the MV lines had been cabled),
- adapting the distribution grid to increased power flows in both directions (in 2022, micro-installations with the capacity of 908 MW had been connected to the grid),
- improving the diagnostics of the operating status of the MV and LV grids through the use of the smart substation metering technology and the digitalization of the metering databases (as of the end 2022 nearly 17% of the customers were equipped with the remote readout meters, and more than 87% of the transformer substations had remote readout meters installed).
With respect to the district heating market development, the Ligota Project – the expansion of the Katowice South district heating market and the Low Emission Elimination Program are being implemented.
As part of efforts aimed at maintaining high customer satisfaction indices and implementing modern IT tools, in 2022 the customer service quality indices (CSI, NSP, CES) were improved, customer service standards were raised and the digitalization of customer service channels was carried out.
Implementation of Priority #3 – An organization that keeps up with change
TAURON entered into a new syndicated loan agreement worth PLN 4 billion in 2022, the proceeds from which can be used, among other things, to finance the Group’s capital expenditures, including RES.
In addition, TAURON Group took advantage of the aid funds available. The total amount of financing obtained for the investment projects carried out in 2022 stands at more than PLN 446 million.
With respect to the human capital management, the most important issue in 2022 was the effective conducting of the social dialogue with the workforce aimed at preparing for the changes in the employment structure and the evolution of the organization in connection with the spin-off of the generation, mining and security lines of business assets out of the structure of TAURON Group.
The below figure presents the status of the key strategic goals in 2022.
| Strategic goals | Assumptions | Assumptions |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | PLN 4.5 billion in 2025 PLN 6.5 billion in 2030 |
PLN 4.0 billion |
| Net debt to EBITDA ratio | at a safe level | 2.9x |
| RES installed capacity | 1.6 GW in 2025 3.7 GW in 2030 |
0.66 GW |
| Emissions | 200 kg CO2/MWh in 2025 < 160 kg CO2/MWh in 2030 |
767 kg CO2/MWh |
| Smart meters share | 100% by 2030 | 17% |
| New consumer connections to the district heating network | 450 MWt in 2030 | 33.6 MWt |
| FTR (First Time Resolution) |
> 90% in 2030 | more than 90% via the telephone channel (sales and delivery of electricity and gas); other channels and products – preparatory works to implement indicator monitoring |