Państwowa Agencja Atomistyki - paa.sam3.pl

Polish Nuclear Power Program is the first comprehensive document describing nuclear power in Poland. It presents the scope and structure for the organization of activities which must be taken in order to implement nuclear power, ensure safe and effective operation of nuclear facilities, their decommissioning after the end of operation and ensure safety of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste management. In order to implement nuclear power in Poland, it will be required to build the entire technical infrastructure necessary for the development and functioning of nuclear power industry (that is legal, organizational, institutional infrastructure as well as scientific and research back-up, staff training system).

The PNPP specifies the scope and structure for the organization of activities necessary to implement nuclear power. It is expected that the period needed for the implementation of the Program is years 2011-2030. The Program costs were estimated to the end of the first key stage – commissioning of the first nuclear power plant. It is assumed that the Program should be reviewed once every four years, which will also allow for the verification of the costs necessary for the Program implementation.     

The main goal of the Program is the implementation in Poland of nuclear power which will ensure supplies of enough power at competitive prices in compliance with environmental protection requirements. This goal will be achieved by means of many measures defined in the Program.

 Schedule

• 2010 – development of a draft PNPP by the Ministry of Economy and performance by the ME of the environmental impact forecast, public consultations regarding a draft PNPP covering approx. 100 national entities;
•  30 December 2010 – 31 March 2011 – formal public consultations regarding the environmental impact forecast of the draft (opinions and comments were submitted by approx. 300 different organizations);
• 18 July 2011 – start of transboundary consultations regarding the forecast with Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Finland. Poland provided the interested countries with a translation of the document and environmental impact forecast enabling the assessment of potential impact;
• July – December 2012 – meetings on the expert level with Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Denmark;
• May 2013 – formal completion of transboundary consultations process ending with signing of the protocol on consultations with Austria
• 3 July 2013 – submission of a draft PNPP for a discussion of the Interministerial Team for the Implementation of Poland’s Energy Policy up to 2030       
• 9 July 2013 – discussion of the draft PNPP at the Team’s meeting
• 17 July – 20 August 2013 – agreeing the draft PNPP with its participants
• 11 October 2013 – the senior management of the Ministry of Economy adopted of the draftof Polish Nuclear Power Program
• 9 January 2014 - the Permanent Committee of the Council of Ministers adopted the draft of Polish Nuclear Power Program 

Status of PNPP

The PNPP was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 28 January 2014

Main Authorities

Three main authorities are involved in the implementation of PNPP:

Ministry of Economy as a promoting entity – is responsible for the coordination and promotion of the draft PNPP and the use of nuclear power for social and economic purposes of Poland.   

PGE as an investor – ensures funds for the construction of nuclear power plant as well as the organization of construction and operation of the facility  

National Atomic Energy Agency (PAA) as a regulator – supervises safety of nuclear facilities and the conduct of activities, carries out inspections and safety assessment, issues licenses and possible sanctions

 Tasks of PAA relating to the PNPP

The PAA President is an independent, central organ of public administration performing the role of a nuclear regulatory body which means that he exercises, through the Agency, the supervision over the use of ionizing radiation in industry, medicine and scientific research from the viewpoint of nuclear safety and radiological protection.

Tasks of the President of National Atomic Energy Agency as a nuclear regulatory body in relation to nuclear facilities, including nuclear power plants, are as follows: 

1. Developing requirements for nuclear safety and radiological protection,
2. Conducting licensing process, including licenses for the construction and operation of nuclear facilities;
3. Performing analyses, assessments and inspections with regard to ensuring safety by the investor – and also by the operator of a nuclear facility as to the compliance with laws on nuclear safety and radiological protection both for the purposes of licensing process and operation,
4. Issuing technical recommendations indicating how to ensure safety in specific cases,
5. Imposing sanctions enforcing the compliance with suitable provisions of laws. 

From the beginning of 2011, the PAA has been taking measures aimed at preparing itself for the implementation of PNPP, starting from self-assessment process initiated in 2009 when legislative, organizational and functional changes were determined to be implemented by the Agency in order to transform it into an authority supervising nuclear safety and radiological protection in the country undertaking nuclear power program.  

The PNPP Schedule contains also items regarding the development of the concept of transformation of the National Atomic Energy Agency into a modern nuclear regulatory body until the first half of 2011, taking into account needs of nuclear power industry and then its actual implementation until the end of 2013. In this respect PAA prepared two analyses (Guidelines for the Program of Activities which Must Be Taken in the National Atomic Energy Agency and A Few Notes about Tasks, Organization, Development and Financial Issues of the National Atomic Energy Agency (Nuclear Regulator) in the Light of Plans for the Construction of Nuclear Power Plant in Poland”). The conclusions of the aforementioned analyses emphasized the need for increasing the number of jobs at the PAA at least by 17 nuclear regulatory inspectors, 13 staff members analyzing safety documentation and 9 employees or experts in administrative law. The PAA will fully meet personnel status requirements until 2014.      

Supervision over the activities of nuclear facilities conducted by a competent, independent nuclear regulator ensures a high and publically acceptable level of nuclear safety and radiological protection. It is one of the conditions for the implementation of the PNPP.