URE Approves Changes No. 5/2026 to Poland's Balancing Conditions (WDB), Effective 15 December 2026

The President of Poland's Energy Regulatory Office (URE) issued decision DRR.WRE.744.22.2026.PBo2 on 2 October 2026 approving Changes No. 5/2026 to the Balancing Conditions (Warunki Dotyczące Bilansowania, WDB), amending points 2.2, 8.9.4(7.3.b), 8.9.5(3.7), 8.9.5(7), 10.2(4.4) and 21(2.1.c), while refusing approval of point 1.3(14). The amendments take effect on 15 December 2026, and PSE has published the decision, the approved changes, and a consolidated unified text of the WDB (both clean and marked-up versions).

The WDB govern core balancing market mechanics in Poland, including imbalance settlement and balance responsible party obligations. Amendments to these provisions directly affect how PSE and market participants calculate, report, and settle balancing positions, with implications for operational procedures and compliance obligations across the Polish balancing market.

This event represents a routine but substantive regulatory update to Poland's balancing rulebook via the formal URE approval process under the Energy Law. The partial refusal of one amendment point (1.3(14)) signals active regulatory scrutiny rather than rubber-stamp approval, suggesting URE retains specific concerns about certain provisions even as it approves the bulk of the package. The roughly 10-week gap between approval (2 Oct 2026) and entry into force (15 Dec 2026) provides a short implementation window for PSE and market participants to adapt systems and processes. As a procedural/methodological change rather than a structural market redesign, direct price formation and liquidity effects are expected to be limited, but operational security and participant compliance processes are materially affected given the binding nature of WDB provisions on balance responsible parties.

Polish Energy Law; URE Presidential decisions amending prior decisions of 27 September 2023 and 26 January 2024 (ref. DRR.WRE.744.17.2023.ŁW)

Entry into force of Changes No. 5/2026 to the Balancing Conditions (WDB) · 15 Dec 2026

Primary sources