The beginning of the school year in the energy industry – a satirical overview of the new season.

Each of us knows the feeling. The beginning of September was still warm, with days reminiscent of summer but already the first days of school. On the one hand, curiosity about who will be in class; on the other – a stomach-squeezing feeling that now it will be more difficult as a new school year with new requirements begins. For now, the first day in festive attire: white shirts and navy blue pants, flowers for teachers, a solemn standing assembly with boring speeches and droning rhymes of the primaries. But the brutal start of the school year is just around the corner: midterms, debriefings, essays and other homework, and finally, grades and summative tests. Now, you will have to answer specific questions and prove your knowledge.
The same is true of the energy transition. What about energy prices? Why freeze funds if they burn through without meaning and do not create a market? How do we deal with excess energy from RES, and at the same time, where is the new windmill law? What about mining and the notification of the aid program in the EU? Do we change the system dynamically or leave it “as is”? And what about nuclear power – how will it function in the mythical base (which may not be there) in 2035 and perhaps beyond? What financing model provides for the flow of 60 billion zlotys to the investor – and where is the EU notification? There are also detailed and clarifying questions. Analysis, reports, dozens of tables with results and visual charts are required.
And, after all, it’s already September… The joyful days of summer vacation have passed for fun and sports. We were supposed to prepare something, but the weather was great, and colleagues were waiting on the field. Now, after the first day of school, the noose is slowly tightening, and the anxiety in the stomach is growing. What’s next? Maybe… get sick? COVID or another stomach flu, simulated poisoning, or perhaps even severe melancholy? A few weeks of extra bed rest, and no one will ask? Unfortunately, modern thermometers instantly measure body temperature, and there is no way to “tweak” it by rubbing or soaking it in hot tea, as was the case with the old mercury ones. COVID and flu show up on pharmacy testers within minutes – so this plan falls through.
If not illness, how about a last resort? Truancy? We just won’t be there – the teacher will call out our names in vain, and classmates with surprised faces will repeat that they know nothing about us. Surviving until the end of the semester or the first interview is possible, but then a terrible disaster awaits. So why not… stay for another year in the same class? Then there will be vacations again, the same questions and the same classes, and we will only have to answer next year.