N2 - Until the early 1990s, the domestic power industry was a natural monopoly. This was caused by the specificity of the operation of the electricity transmission and distribution sub sectors, technical challenges of coordinating the operation of generating units and transmission networks, requirements regarding long-term forecasting of the industry development, and returns to scale. In view of the above, the objective of the presented paper is to assess the economic situation of energy companies operating in a competitive electricity market. The article analyses the main areas of activity of the energy companies, i.e.: the areas of production, transmission, distribution, and sales. In addition, the market shares of the various energy companies, in terms of generating capacity and the amount of the energy produced, were analyzed. Furthermore, the technical and economic situation of enterprises operating in the power sector was also subjected to analysis. The mentioned analysis has revealed that the profit received from the main activity of the enterprises (i.e. the sale of electricity) has decreased in recent years. What is more, the energy sector must adapt to legal and regulatory changes related to the intensification of the decarbonization policy pursued by the European Commission. Therefore, national energy should focus on developing skills in the areas of innovation, such as: electro mobility, energy storage, energy management, etc. L1 - http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/107025/PDF/03-Zamasz.pdf L2 - http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/Content/107025 PY - 2018 IS - No 2 EP - 48 DO - 10.24425/122768 KW - energy company KW - energy sector KW - electricity generation sector A1 - Zamasz, Krzysztof PB - Instytut Gospodarki Surowcami Mineralnymi i EnergiÄ… PAN VL - vol. 21 DA - 2018.06.30 T1 - Energy company in a competitive energy market SP - 35 UR - http://www.czasopisma.pan.pl/dlibra/publication/edition/107025 T2 - Polityka Energetyczna - Energy Policy Journal