Consulting Services
Our activities are focused on the needs of enterprises in the energy sector and industry, government bodies and public institutions, as well as a wide range of new market participants—prosumers.
Our consultants continuously monitor the fuel and energy markets in Poland and worldwide. We provide ongoing operational support for energy companies and other entities operating in the fuel and energy markets in Poland and abroad by conducting analytical studies on various topics, benchmarking analyses in domestic and international markets, expert reports, business plans, and offering direct consulting services.
We support companies in the ongoing energy transition by offering assistance in areas such as corporate sustainability initiatives, developing decarbonization strategies, and calculating carbon footprints. We prepare tailored studies on improving energy efficiency, particularly in energy management strategies aimed at cost reduction. Additionally, we provide advice on selecting energy suppliers and negotiating energy sales agreements, including renewable energy purchase agreements (PPAs), and offer recommendations on future electricity price levels in retail contracts. An important segment of our services is investment advisory, particularly in the renewable energy sector, with a focus on the rapidly growing photovoltaic market for both small- and large-scale installations. We also provide consulting services for district heating companies interested in modernizing heat generation sources within urban heating systems or individual heating units.
Our advisory services also cover the rapidly expanding prosumer energy sector. Furthermore, we closely follow the development of electromobility in Poland and globally, particularly the increasing use of alternative fuels in transportation. In this area, we conduct feasibility studies on transitioning vehicle fleets to electric or hybrid models for entities seeking cost savings or looking to modernize their corporate image.
Another key area of our advisory services is the organization and delivery of training programs for various stakeholders interested in the functioning and development of the Polish energy market. Currently, the training sessions organized by ARE S.A. have become an integral part of the new services we offer our clients.
The advisory activities of Agencja Rynku Energii S.A. encompass three main service areas:
AREA I: BUSINESS CONSULTING
Energy transformation and established regulations regarding electricity and heat, fuels, and technologies, force changes that mainly concern enterprises for which energy carrier prices are a significant component of their basic operating costs. The consequences of changes occurring in the energy market are new investments and entrepreneurs' efforts to increase energy efficiency. Decisions made in this regard will affect the future position of these companies in an increasingly competitive market, and the response to this challenge is a well-thought-out energy strategy that addresses the future needs of enterprises.
Consequently, ARE responds to the changes occurring in the energy market and offers support to its Clients in areas related to the broad improvement of energy consumption efficiency in their organization or investment activities in technologies involving emission-free energy generation.
Among the catalog of services in the area of "Business Consulting," the most important include:
- ADVISORY SERVICES IN THE AREA OF ENERGY TRANSFORMATION
Decarbonization strategies for enterprises
We offer the preparation of a decarbonization strategy aimed at determining the most effective approach to reducing the negative impact of the enterprise on the natural environment. As a result, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced through optimization mechanisms and increased efficiency, thanks to effective energy use, transitioning to renewable energy sources, or consciously choosing suppliers.
In light of current regulations, laws, and pressure from investors and customers, enterprises must develop an effective decarbonization strategy to reduce their negative impact on the climate and environment. For enterprises that delay changing their business models, this will mean increasing risks in securing investment financing or maintaining relationships with more climate-conscious contractors.
By implementing a good energy strategy, the enterprise will ensure:- compliance with regulatory requirements,
- increased resilience to financial risks and legislative changes,
- competitive advantage for enterprises,
- access to green financing and, consequently, lower capital acquisition costs.
As part of the decarbonization plan development, we offer:
- Planning a methodology to achieve climate neutrality in a cost-optimal manner,
- Review of actions and technologies that reduce the impact of business activities on the natural environment, in terms of investment outlays and current operating expenses,
- Identification of key threats associated with implemented or proposed technologies and investments and assessment of actions in the local context,
- Identification and assessment of available solutions (including cPPA agreements), market suppliers, and supply chain implementation models,
- Development of a financial model that considers all variants and climate and financial risks,
- Definition of goals and levels of achieved emission reduction.
Reports on sustainable development (ESG) activities
We offer the preparation of reports on sustainable development activities (i.e., ESG - Environmental, Social, Governance) for all entities and enterprises obligated by the EU CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). ESG reporting is the process of collecting, analyzing, and sharing information about a company's activities in three main areas: environmental, social, and corporate governance. Additionally, it includes information about the company's ESG strategy, goals, and progress in achieving them. The obligation to report carbon footprints is being expanded year by year - from large companies employing over 500 people (for the year 2024), over 250 people (for the year 2025), to medium and small enterprises. The obligation to report ESG is a significant step towards increasing corporate accountability and supporting sustainable development. Creating ESG reports offers many benefits - it increases trust among international partners and investors and allows for more effective management of internal processes within the enterprise. Companies that effectively manage their ESG impact improve their reputation, increase stakeholder trust, and achieve better financial results.
Carbon footprint of the organization and product in three areas in the context of ESG
ARE experts will comprehensively measure the carbon footprint of the organization, enterprise, or specific products. Facing legislative pressure related to ESG requirements and their contractors, companies are measuring the carbon footprint of their organizations and products. The carbon footprint allows for assessing how harmful the enterprise's activities are to the environment and facilitates determining the changes and actions necessary to reduce the company's negative impact on the environment.
The service will include:- Mapping the sources of emissions of the company and its surroundings - identifying areas with the greatest impact,
- Calculating greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the enterprise's activities based on the GHG Protocol/ISO 14064-1 standard, depending on the organization's needs for:
- scope 1 - direct greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of fuels in stationary or mobile sources owned or supervised by the organization,
- scope 2 - indirect emissions related to energy, concerning emissions resulting from the production of electricity, heat, or cooling that is used by the company but generated outside its facility,
- scope 3 - other indirect greenhouse gas emissions - includes all other emissions related to the company's activities, related to the product outside the company's borders.
- Calculating the product's carbon footprint according to the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) methodology, based on the PN-EN ISO 14067 standard and the Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard GHG Protocol,
- Developing effective decarbonization actions,
- Developing the organization's climate policy,
- Periodic updates of adopted strategies and analyses regarding the carbon footprint.
Energy strategy for entrepreneurs in the area of cost optimization
The energy strategy is a set of actions aimed at optimizing the costs of energy acquisition by the enterprise and adapting its activities to current trends in sustainable development.
Strategies for managing electricity over the next 2-3 years, focused on reducing costs.
The goal of the service is to prepare a medium-term electricity management strategy for the Client. The service is aimed at both cost and energy optimization. The costs of purchasing energy can constitute a significant area of economic optimization conducted by the Client's activities. Internal and external factors, including legislative ones, play an important role, particularly indicating the need to improve energy efficiency and supporting this direction of action.
The scope of the offered Strategy includes:
- Analysis of the enterprise's market environment, including in particular:
- review of the electricity supplier market and regulations, including analysis of national and EU regulations (European Green Deal, "Fit for 55" package, and others),
- identification of possible sources of electricity acquisition, including, among others: contracting based on stock market quotations, PPA and cPPA (virtual and physical) and other solutions, e.g., building one's own generation unit and/or energy storage (advantages, disadvantages, risks),
- forecasting electricity prices until 2030 for the generation sources mentioned above.
- Analysis of the enterprise's energy situation:
- review of energy audits and other available materials on the enterprise's energy situation,
- analysis of current contracts for electricity supply in terms of electricity price and the nature of the contract (e.g., fixed price, price based on stock market quotations).
- Energy strategy - directions and conditions for energy acquisition for the enterprise (possible scenario analysis), in particular:
- estimation of electricity costs after implementing the strategy,
- assessment of the economic viability of investments proposed in the analysis,
- sensitivity analysis of the strategy to changes in the legal and business environment,
- possibility of obtaining financial support (e.g., from EU programs or targeted grants), including analysis of access criteria.
Recommendations regarding future electricity price levels in retail contracts (variant analysis).
The goal of the service is to prepare a comprehensive analysis of the situation in the electricity market in the retail segment for the Client. By ordering the expertise, the Client will be able to make an informed decision about the current purchase of electricity at a reasonable price.
The expertise will analyze market factors, such as current prices of emission allowances, property rights prices, and electricity prices on the stock market in the commodity futures market. Elements such as the correlation of electricity prices with other market factors, the relationship of prices in the domestic market with prices in neighboring markets, and the impact of energy policy on the formation of electricity prices will be taken into account.
The offered report will also include an analysis of available forms of purchasing electricity, such as purchasing at tariff prices, the "click" model of purchasing energy, or direct purchasing of energy on the wholesale market.
The service will cover the following issues:
- analysis of the situation in the wholesale electricity market at the time of preparing the expertise,
- calculation of energy charges for future periods (quarter, year)
- analysis of the risk of price increases or decreases in electricity in contracts for the following year,
- analysis of factors affecting electricity prices for end consumers,
- analysis of the most common forms of electricity contracting by end consumers.
Energy audits aimed at increasing energy efficiency
The audit presents in a clear and standardized way the places and amount of energy consumed in the enterprise. The energy audit of the enterprise should include, among others, a detailed review of energy consumption in buildings or groups of buildings, in industrial installations, and in transport, accounting for at least 90% of the total energy consumption by that enterprise.ARE experts and auditors support entrepreneurs in conducting energy audits, which provide essential knowledge to those responsible for managing the enterprise, particularly regarding:
- indicating necessary actions to reduce energy consumption,
- identifying energy-intensive processes, devices, and technologies,
- enabling the identification of areas of unjustified and increased energy consumption,
- providing information about the energy management conducted in the enterprise,
- assessing the condition of the owned assets in terms of technical and energy efficiency,
- indicating the possibility of applying for additional funding in the form of energy efficiency certificates, i.e., so-called "white certificates."
Consulting services in the renewable energy sources (RES) segment
We support investors in the renewable energy sources segment in assessing investment efficiency. The service is directed to investors in the RES sector, with particular emphasis on investments related to the construction of photovoltaic farms and large-capacity PV installations. The product is a cost-benefit analysis and risk assessment of a given investment project in the process of granting investment credit. Additionally, we offer:
- Conducting an inventory of potential locations for PV installations in the facilities indicated by the investor
- Technical audits of existing PV farms/installations for the purpose of assessing the justification of decisions made by investors.
- Analysis of the enterprise's market environment, including in particular:
- ADVISORY SERVICES IN THE AREA OF HEATING TRANSFORMATION
Support and advice on the modernization of municipal heating systems or individual heat sources.
As part of this service, the advisor will present the Ordering Party with a concept of possible directions for modernizing the heat source, leading to a reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, ensuring the acquisition of the status of an efficient heating system, possibly utilizing renewable energy. Our focus will mainly be on projects whose implementation will contribute to achieving the highest possible energy efficiency and cost efficiency of the modernized heat source. In close cooperation with the Client, we will indicate the most optimal modernization variant for the given heating system and conduct a full economic feasibility analysis of the investment in a new generation source for each of the considered variants based on technologies utilizing natural gas/biogas, biomass, or other solutions.
As part of the service provided, the following issues will be developed:
- Technical analysis of the current system, including a review of the applied technology and verification of the existing and future heat balance in the enterprise,
- Technical proposal for modernizing the system, based on, among others, gas, RES, waste-derived fuels, solar collectors, heat pumps, etc.
- Full economic analysis of the investment in system modernization, including the payback period, projection of cash flows, potential revenues from auctions for cogeneration (if applicable).
- Optionally, the possibility of applying for so-called white certificates.
As a result, the Ordering Party will receive a service that serves as a basis for ordering project documentation and implementing the modernization of the source in the heating system.
SERVICES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS (LGUs) IN THE AREA OF SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND CLIMATE
We support LGUs in developing strategic documents related to sustainable energy management. We offer municipalities a comprehensive service in preparing and conducting investments along with creating a technical-economic model for optimal energy use. In close cooperation with the Client, we conduct feasibility analyses of replacing "low emission" sources with efficient generation sources based on natural gas/biogas or biomass.
Among the documents prepared by ARE as part of the above services are, among others:
- sustainable energy action plans (SEAP),
- low-emission economy plans (PGN),
- energy balances of municipalities,
- strategies for purchasing fuels and energy carriers to optimize costs related to the purchase of energy media,
- heat, electricity, and gas supply plans,
- analyses and local energy strategies contributing to achieving the goals of the energy-climate package.
- DEDICATED SERVICES FOR PROSUMER ENERGY
- Expert services for future prosumers in the PV sector
- comparative audit of PV installations for prosumers, concerning an independent and objective comparison of two or more offers for prosumer photovoltaic installations from different suppliers.
- assessment of the profitability of building a PV installation,
- analysis of offers from installation companies in the photovoltaic sector, recommendations regarding technical solutions, installation and service costs, materials, etc.
- Expert services for potential heat pump users
- Paid additional services in the area of individual analysis and assessment of the profitability of investing in heat pump installations for individual and institutional users.
- Individual advisory meetings and consultations for investors interested in implementing and developing prosumer energy.
- Expert services for future prosumers in the PV sector
AREA II: TECHNICAL-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS FOR CURRENT OPERATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT
- Standard and individual analytical works and reports, expertise, and short-term forecasts
- technical-economic projects and reports concerning domestic and foreign energy markets,
- market benchmark along with an assessment of the market position of energy market participants,
- benchmark of energy technologies,
- analyses concerning energy companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange,
- analyses for energy consumers,
- analyses regarding losses and failure rates of distribution networks,
- analyses regarding electricity prices for end consumers in Poland and selected European countries.
- short-term forecasts of electricity prices, coal costs, and other price indices related to energy or fuel prices.
- Analytical services for foreign economic entities and research centers for projects related to the common energy policy of EU countries.
- Projects in the area of analyzing energy media and carriers markets,
- Providing consulting services for companies and European financial institutions regarding the functioning of the Polish energy market in terms of the created energy policy and current legal, economic, and technical issues.
Our Clients, through the implementation of consulting services, will find answers to the following questions:
- Which subsector had the largest share in the sector's performance, and which showed the highest profitability?
- How does the production and consumption of electricity change, which production technologies are developing faster?
- How dynamically is the renewable energy segment developing, and what about the energy use of biomass?
- How do unit production costs shape according to individual technologies?
- What is the state of Polish electricity networks measured, among others, by loss indicators and failure rates?
- Is the wholesale and retail electricity market in Poland already fully competitive?
- How is the structure of electricity sales evolving in the wholesale market?
- What about electricity prices in wholesale and for end consumers, and what could be the trends in short-term changes?
- How do prices of coal, gas, and electricity change in Poland, Europe, and the world?
- How do investment expenditures shape among producers and operators, and are they sufficient for necessary modernizations and asset renewals?
- Polish energy in Europe - where are we? Are Polish enterprises able to compete with foreign corporations in the integrating European market?
A detailed list of periodic reports and analyses from Pillar II of consulting services is presented below. We also offer our Clients the preparation of dedicated studies, carried out on individual orders and based on agreed assumptions with Clients. A list of titles of such works (ordered individually) is presented at the end of this chapter.
AREA III: ORGANIZING AND CONDUCTING TRAININGS ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE POLISH ENERGY MARKET
Trainings organized by ARE S.A. for various recipients interested in the functioning and development of the Polish energy market have currently become a permanent element of new services provided for our Clients.
In 2025, ARE will conduct three dedicated training programs cyclically:
- PRINCIPLES OF THE FUNCTIONING OF THE ENERGY MARKET IN POLAND
- OBLIGATION TO REDUCE ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY PUBLIC UNITS
- BASICS OF THE POWER MARKET IN POLAND
- CARBON FOOTPRINT IN THE CONTEXT OF ESG REPORTS - HOW TO PROPERLY CALCULATE IT FOR A COMPANY AND A PRODUCT
These trainings are an opportunity to acquire knowledge that will allow listeners to raise their basic qualifications and enable them to perform their duties in their energy company more effectively, allowing for further, deeper specialization in their area of activity. We dedicate them to all those who wish to systematize their knowledge, employees of companies in the industry, market analysts, financial advisors advising the energy sector, entrepreneurs wondering how the energy and capacity market operates and whether there is room for their capital, as well as journalists or publicists wishing to understand how the national energy market works.
The trainings are also dedicated to all individuals and employees dealing with issues of improving energy efficiency, particularly in public administration, local government, and other public, cultural, or social organizations and institutions.
Regardless, in response to reported needs, ARE also organizes and conducts dedicated trainings on various topics of interest to corporate Clients from the financial, fintech, large energy companies, and industrial consumers sectors.