Press articles and reports

The December issue of “Przegląd Gazowniczy” published an article by Adam Wawrzynowicz, Kamil Iwicki and Marcel Krzanowski regarding the latest national legislative proposals in the renewable gas sector. The authors set out to assess changes in the regulations governing the functioning of the gas system intended to enable the introduction of biomethane into the network. In addition, W&W’s lawyers analyzed the assumptions of the draft act amending the Energy Law (UD382) to regulate the functioning of the hydrogen system and to build greater infrastructural integration between the current energy systems.

The November issue of the magazine “Nowa Energia” published an article by Adam Wawrzynowicz, Kamil Iwicki and Marcel Krzanowski titled, “New legal solutions for biomethane and hydrogen”. The lawyers from W&W focused on the assumptions of legislative changes (including EU energy policy), the methods of their implementation, as well as the potential consequences they may have for the gas industry.

Kamil Iwicki, Adam Wawrzynowicz and Marcel Krzanowski wrote an article for the June issue of “Przegląd Gazowniczy” titled,  “Decarbonized gases – accelerating the transformation of the gas industry”.

The authors point out that the European Commission’s REPowerEU directly states that natural gas will no longer be promoted as a transitional fuel in the energy transition process. Therefore, programmes financed by the EU budget will primarily support the development of the biomethane, and the green and blue hydrogen sectors. Member States, including Poland, will have to set up an adequate hydrogen infrastructure, using both the existing natural gas system and the system dedicated exclusively to hydrogen. The text emphasizes the particular importance of building so-called multi-energy systems, i.e. close integration of the power and gas systems or – in the future – hydrogen systems.

An article by Marcel Krzanowski and Adam Wawrzynowicz appeared in the March issue of “Przegląd Gazowniczy”  titled, “The European Commission has presented two important packages of legal changes regarding the gas industry”.

At the end of last year, the European Commission published long-awaited projects to decarbonise the gas sector. The presented reform provides answers to the questions posed so far about the future shape of the regulatory environment for the natural gas and hydrogen market.

The authors analyze the proposed changes presented in the article and identify areas requiring further work.

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Adam Wawrzynowicz and Marcel Krzanowski are the co-authors of an article for the December issue of ‘Przegląd Gazniczy’ titled ” The involvement of the Chamber of Commerce for the Gas Industry in the development of the hydrogen and biogas sector”.

The authors discuss activities for the development of the biogas and biomethane sectors as well as the process for building strategy and drafting legislative change.

A “Sectoral Agreement for the Development of the Hydrogen Economy in Poland” was concluded In October 2021 by representatives of the government administration, the scientific community and the business. This was followed in November by the signing of a “Sectoral Agreement for the Development of the Biogas and Biomethane Sectors”. Both processes actively involved experts and representatives of member companies of the Chamber of Commerce for the Gas Industry who have been working in the vast majority of the task teams established at the Ministry of Climate and Environment over the last dozen or so months.

The June issue of Przegląd Gazniczy (Gas Review) published an article by Adam Wawrzynowicz and Tomasz Brzeziński titled, ‘The prospects for natural gas as a transformative fuel in the context of the EU Taxonomy’.

One of the assumptions of the European Green Deal adopted in 2019 is to reduce the emissions of the gas sector, which is to take place, inter alia, by increasing aid for development work in the field of low-emitting gases. The criteria for investors and financial institutions to assess whether specific investments applying for financing are environmentally sustainable are indicated in the so-called “EU taxonomy”, namely Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment.

The article deals with the prospects for the development of natural gas in the context of the aforementioned regulation and the further EU actions announced in connection with the regulation.

An article by Adam Wawrzynowicz and Tomasz Brzeziński devoted to the regulations on agricultural biogas and biomethane appeared in a special April issue of Przegląd Gazniczy (Gas Review).

The authors explain the issues connected with the relevant regulations, in particular in the context of the potential introduction of agricultural biogas and biomethane to gas networks, as well as their use in the transport sector.

The article refers not only to the possibility of exploiting these fuels, but also discusses the existing legal barriers that stand in the way of the use of agricultural biogas and biomethane for the purposes of Poland’s implementation of renewable energy objectives.

MIFID II and the amendment to the Act on Trading in Financial Instruments implementing this directive will significantly strengthen the impact of financial market regulation on the functioning of the gas market, causing, among others, a change in the structure and principles of gas exchange. The main objectives of MIFID II are to create an integrated financial market, to provide better protection for investors, to increase the level of trust and to ensure that financial supervisory authorities have the powers to effectively perform their responsibilities.

The directive has a serious impact on the continued functioning of the gas market by significantly extending the scope of contracts entered into on the gas market that may be classified as financial instruments and by introducing a new trading system – an organized trading facility (OTF).

An article by W&W’s Tomasz Brzeziński and Adam Wawrzynowicz titled, “The Impact of the MIFID II Regulation Package on the Functioning of the Gas Market”, as published in Przegląd Gazociągi nr 2 (58), indicates which contracts on the gas market can be classified as financial instruments and discusses changes in the gas exchange operation rules in connection with the implementation of MIFID II.

Published on April 27, 2017 in the Public Information Bulletin of the Government Legislation Centre, the draft law on electro mobility and alternative fuels envisages, inter alia, new responsibilities for the gas distribution system operators to develop refueling infrastructure for CNG and LPG vehicles. The bill seeks to implement EP / Council Directive 2014/94/EU of 22 October 2014 on the development of alternative fuels infrastructure.

Under the Directive, the Member States were obliged, inter alia, to create a sufficient number of LNG and CNG refueling points and to provide relevant information to users of alternative fuel vehicles. The draft law on electro mobility and alternative fuels imposes a number of obligations related to the implementation of the tasks set out in the Directive for distribution system operators. An article by Adam Wawrzynowicz and Tomasz Brzezinski discusses the particular responsibilities of the DSOs as envisaged in this project.

The article by W&W’s Adam Wawrzynowicz and Tomasz Brzezinski, entitled “Gas Industry Commitments under the Electro Mobility and Alternative Fuels Act” was published in the latest issue of the Gazette of the Chamber of Commerce of the Gas Industry, “Przegląd Gazowniczy” no 2/2017, p.20-21.

In April of this year, the website of the Government Legislation Centre published a draft bill amending the “Energy Law” by introducing detariffication on the gas market and releasing energy companies from the obligation to submit tariffs for approval by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office. The bill is a response by the Polish government to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU of 10 September 2015. (Case C-36/14, Commission v Poland). According to the ruling, with the unlimited in time, statutory obligation by a state authority to approve tariffs for trade in natural gas for all customers, the Republic of Poland is in breach of European Union law.

The proposed amendment aims for the gradual detariffication  of natural gas trading and the eventual total abandonment of natural gas price regulating. The draft bill also provides for the obligation to adapt natural gas sale contracts and comprehensive agreements to the requirements of detariffication. Adam Wawrzynowicz’s article discusses the scope and schedule of detariffication and assesses the changes and the proposed date of entry into force of the Act.

The article by W&W’s Adam Wawrzynowicz, “Proposed detariffication in the gas market” was published in the latest edition of the magazine of the Chamber of the Natural Gas Industry “Przegląd gazowniczy” No. 2/2016, pp. 38 – 40.