EmPower Your Environment grant programme

“EmPOWER Your Environment” is a comprehensive grant programme by Polish TSO PSE, which responds to aid applications submitted to the company by stakeholders impacted by grid development and allows PSE to enter into a social dialogue with communities.

Objectives:

• Engage communities, co-creating and developing public space and social infrastructure
• 110,000 residents positively impacted by 85 projects in 76 communities across Poland
• Increase acceptance for transmission infrastructure through transparent dialogue with residents

Main information:

Plans to modernise existing grids and construct new power lines for large-scale projects often face public opposition, with lack of information a contributing factor. To address this, PSE decided to build awareness by enhancing public space through a community grant programme. Based on the commonly applied principle of participatory budgeting, residents decide which social projects are to be funded. As a result, the national grant competition has unobstructed investment processes for grid projects and has helped improve PSE’s social dialogue.

Additional information:

PSE is the transmission system operator in Poland.