The new phase of the digitisation process at the Energy Regulatory Office and its impact on the heating tariff process
The URE Digital Twin represents a joint initiative of the University of Warsaw, the Energy Regulatory Office, and the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which is set to revolutionise the tariff process in the heating sector with a combination of science, administration, and technology within a cutting edge AI-based tool. The project is expected to both facilitate access to public services and improve the work of URE in the area of heat tariff setting.
The signing ceremony for the ‘Cooperation Agreement’ took place on 17 October. The document was signed by:
- Dariusz Standerski, The Secretary of State at the Ministry of Digital Affairs,
- Renata Mroczek, The President of the URE,
- Sławomir Żółtek, PhD, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw,
- Filip Elżanowski, PhD, the Head of the Energy Transformation Centre.
The URE Digital Twin is a project that brings together science, administration and the Regulator in order to create tools that support public institutions and education. This type of model may also be scalable to other areas – wherever there is a synergy between the legal knowledge, institutional experience and digital innovation that supports the transformation of the state as well as facilitates the work of public administration - said university professor, Sławomir Żółtek, PhD, Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw.
The URE Digital Twin aligns with the objectives of the European Digital Decade, under which by 2030, 90 per cent of public services in the EU are expected to be available online. This project comprises three dimensions:
- administrative, that is, support for officials with the analysis of materials submitted by companies and the documentation of proceedings;
- commercial, in the form of a more orderly tariff process for heating companies, favouring the elimination of errors in applications and documents submitted during proceedings; and
- educational – it will function as a teaching model for law and administration students, providing them with the opportunity to practise their skills in realistic simulations of proceedings.
URE openly steps into the digital world, forging new paths that other entities can follow. For the Office, the AI-enabled digitalisation involves investments in solutions that will streamline everyday work and allow for better use of incoming data. The URE Digital Twin represents a project that will help accelerate the heating tariff process, which is one of the key areas of the Regulator's activity. This solution, build on a combination of theory and practice, will strengthen the Office, support businesses, and create a more sustainable environment for the entire market. I am delighted with the fact that this solution can be realistically implemented and fully utilised at URE - continued Renata Mroczek, President of the URE.
Cooperation for digitisation
The URE Digital Twin is a project that fits in with the direction of the state's digitisation development. We are creating a simulation environment – a so-called sandbox – where processes can be tested, data analysed and procedures improved before they are implemented in practice. This is cooperation on a solution that increases the efficiency of public institutions, supports stability and develops new standards for working with data. These are the kinds of initiatives we want to support and transfer to other areas of administration - added Dariusz Standerski, PhD, Deputy Minister of Digitalisation.
The URE Digital Twin project generates synergies between different environments:
- URE contributes its mandate, expert knowledge as well as experience in tariff processes,
- The Ministry of Digital Affairs bears responsibility for consistency with the state's digital policy and for developing tools supporting administration,
- The Energy Transformation Centre at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw conducts and coordinates the work, while also integrating scientific and expert resources.
The CTE (the Energy Transformation Centre) functions as a platform for cooperation, combining expertise in law, the energy market, digitalisation, and teaching. The work engages officials from the URE, representatives of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, experts, and the academic community. As a result, this project is being developed with an interdisciplinary approach and involves all participants in the tariff process.
The URE Digital Twin also functions as a simulation environment: allowing various scenarios to be tested, data to be analysed, and lessons to be learned from examples.
At CTE, we coordinate and develop the project, by combining scientific and expert resources. This cooperation produces a solution that streamlines the functioning of institutions, facilitates proceedings and enriches teaching. Our ambition is for the developed model to become a benchmark for the further digitisation of administrative processes, as well as to open up space for the development of other tools aimed at supporting a modern country - concluded Filip Elżanowski, PhD, the Head of the Energy Transformation Centre.
The signing ceremony for the agreement concerning the URE Digital Twin preceded the 26th Conference of the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw, entitled ‘International Regulatory Coordination of AI,’ which gathered experts from Poland and abroad.
What is a digital twin?
A digital twin is a virtual model of a real object, process or system, which is built based on data from its operation. It enables the analysis and testing of various scenarios within a digital environment. This solution promotes planning, optimisation and data-driven decision-making. Among other things, it can be used in public administration to analyse data and streamline the work of government offices.