Abstract
Heat supply is one of the most important sectors of the country's energy economy. Widely understood heating secures both: the living needs of society and industrial recipients. Modern heating systems should guarantee reliability of heat supply while limiting energy consumption and transmission losses. It results from the sustainable development strategy, implemented in the European Union, which is based on the development of renewable energy and improvement of energy efficiency. As a consequence of such an energy policy, investments and innovations are implemented in the two areas of the heating sector: technical infrastructure and management of the heat generation and transmission system. The article discusses legal as well as technical and economic conditions for the operation of heating companies, including aspects of energy security. The characteristics of the heat market in Poland and investment expenditures related to the modernisation of infrastructure and environmental protection has been presented in it. Selected innovations used in the process of heat production and supply have been described as well as modern technologies and IT tools that improve management of heating system. The possibilities and limitations of innovative heating development have also been indicted here.