Transmission Easements and Compensation Mechanisms for the Landscape and Property-Value Impacts of Power Grid Expansion in a Sustainable and Just Energy Transition: An Institutional Analysis of Poland Against the EU Comparative Background

Securing legal titles to land for transmission lines shapes the pace and cost of the energy transition and sharpens the conflict between security of supply and the protection of the landscape and of ownership rights. The article evaluates the legal and financial instruments compensating for the siting and operation of transmission facilities: whether the Polish framework is complete, how far impact zones enter the planning provisions of a large city, and where Poland stands among EU member states. Doctrinal analysis and a comparative review of twelve EU jurisdictions are combined with a case study of the 254 local plans in force in Kraków and with model calculations of electromagnetic fields. Power networks appear in 48% of Kraków’s plans, yet restricted-use zones in only 24%; EU models range from full compensation with a 25% statutory supplement (Sweden) to a gratuitous easement (Romania). The Polish model, based on a valuer’s appraisal, occupies an intermediate position and includes no component rewarding the compulsory character of the encumbrance; recommendations for future legislation aim to accelerate the acquisition of titles. Compensation design is therefore an institutional condition of the energy transition: it governs how fast corridors can be secured and how the costs of decarbonisation are distributed, and uncompensated losses mark where the social acceptance of grid expansion is most at risk.