WARSAW, Dec 3 (Reuters) – The Polish army will help the nation’s power grid operator to protect critical transformer stations by sharing information and conducting joint training exercises under an agreement signed on Wednesday, amid increased concerns about Russian drone attacks.
The agreement signed by the Polish power grid (PSE) and the army chief of staff also envisages the military providing help in buying equipment such as anti-drone systems, though it did not provide information on the funding of such cooperation.
NATO member Poland, a key ally of neighbouring Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, has seen a wave of sabotage and arson since 2022, culminating in drone incursions in September and a railway explosion last month.
Warsaw has said the incidents are examples of Russian “state terrorism” and has raised the threat level on some railway lines. Russia denies any involvement.
The drone incursions have highlighted the challenge of protecting more than 16,000 kilometers of high-voltage lines and some 110 transformer stations, which are critical nodes in the electricity transmission system managed by PSE.
“Besides critical nodes it’s a matter of our place in Europe and the fact that Poland links the Baltic system with the rest of the continent. This part of our infrastructure requires particular attention,” Grzegorz Onichimowski, chief executive of PSE told a news briefing.
PSE and its Baltic peers have been seeking European Union funds to better protect vulnerable facilities.
The Polish grid is already bolstering its own armed security to protect vital elements of the system and the power cable with neighbouring Lithuania. Wednesday’s agreement is the next step to boost grid defences.
The agreement will enable joint drills of PSE security teams with the army to prepare the military to safely enter the grid infrastructure.
The grid and the army will work more closely to ensure that connection permits for wind farms do not clash with the need of military aircraft to fly low, the power grid CEO said. They will also exchange information on dangers similar to the September drone incursions.
(Reporting by Marek StrzeleckiEditing by Gareth Jones)
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