Polish regulator calls for urgent ownership reform to expand gas storage
Poland’s energy regulator says the ownership structure of underground gas storage is obstructing investment and should be reformed. URE also proposes transferring mandatory gas stocks from importers to a specialized state-controlled entity.
URE identifies ownership as barrier to investment
Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office, URE, has called for urgent changes to the country’s gas storage system, arguing that its current ownership and operating structure limits investment in new capacity. The recommendation appears in the regulator’s report on the Polish fuels market in 2025, as reported by money.pl.
Poland’s underground gas storage sites have a combined capacity of 3.31 billion cubic metres. They provide reserves during disruptions to foreign supplies and help balance short-term changes in demand. According to URE, expanding this capacity should become one of the state’s highest energy priorities, particularly because Poland has recorded rising peak daily gas consumption for several years.
Operator does not own the storage infrastructure
The storage system is operated by Gas Storage Poland, a subsidiary of the transmission system operator Gaz-System. However, the physical installations remain owned by Orlen. The facilities include storage in salt caverns created by salt leaching and in depleted gas fields.
URE says this separation leaves the operator without essential investment tools. Gas Storage Poland does not own the facilities, hold underground storage licences or participate in the relevant mining-use agreements. The regulator therefore recommends transferring ownership of the underground storage sites, together with the licences and agreements, to the storage system operator so it can fulfil its statutory responsibilities and develop additional capacity.
Mandatory reserves could move away from importers
The regulator also proposes changing responsibility for Poland’s mandatory gas stocks. Importing companies currently carry that obligation. URE recommends assigning it instead to a single specialized entity controlled by the State Treasury.
According to the regulator, centralizing mandatory stocks would improve operating conditions for energy companies while strengthening national security. For importers, the change could remove a regulatory and financial responsibility connected with maintaining reserves. Its practical effect would depend on the structure, financing and access rules established for the proposed state-controlled entity.
Gas sales rose as industry led demand
Gas sold through the network to final customers increased by nearly 7% in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to the URE report. Energy-intensive industry remained the largest consumer group, receiving almost 30% of total volume. Households accounted for 28%, while electricity and heat production represented 22%.
The report also covers liquefied natural gas sales. Light and medium industry purchased more than half of the LNG sold in this segment. These figures show that industrial users would be particularly exposed to changes in supply security, storage availability and short-term market balancing.
Despite the regulator’s concerns about the investment model, URE assessed Poland’s domestic gas market as fully stable in 2025. Operators provided services in accordance with regulations, and access to infrastructure proceeded without disruption. The proposed reform is therefore aimed primarily at future capacity development and resilience rather than resolving an immediate operational failure.