What goes on in Poland on the 18th of October.
Poland is ready to start delivering Norwegian gas to Ukraine
– Poland can join in the reconstruction of Ukraine in the energy sector. We are also considering various projects, a new gas connection and the development of supplies using an FSRU. Due to recent events, we are spending less time on working meetings, because the administration of Ukraine now faces other challenges, but we have arranged another meeting on further cooperation in the near future. All ideas of cooperation in the field of fuels, gas, energy transition are on the table and we intend to develop them further – declares Anna Moskwa, Minister of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.
– We are developing all technical possibilities so that the use of the Polish Baltic LNG Gateway is possible and beneficial for our partners, says Anna Moskwa.
Poles use the entire capacity of the Baltic Pipe available until the end of November, i.e. 3 billion cubic meters annually, for transport from PGNiG’s own field. In 2023, they are to use 6.5 billion out of more than 8 billion reserved on this route, and in 2024 as much as 7.7 billion cubic meters. However, the full capacity of the pipe is 10 billion cubic meters, and the Ukrainians suggested that part of it could also be allocated to them. This will be on top to the supplies needed by Poland.
How is the government supposed to freeze energy prices?
A draft of the Energy Prices Freezing Act is now available. The Ministry of Climate and Environment assumes that the new regulations will ensure prices are not higher than this year, e.g. for households. – This will provide support for electricity consumers, including households, in covering part of the costs resulting from the increase in prices on the energy market – the ministry said. The new method of calculating the price is to limit the revenues of companies to a little over the costs of production.
The act assumes that the limit includes households that consume up to 2.000 KWh of electricity. A larger limit applies to people with disabilities and reaches up to 2.6 thousand KWh. The limits are based on the average consumption in 2020. The data of the Central Statistical Office from 2021 show that the average consumption by city residents reached the level of the current limits, while the consumption in rural areas was higher, which analogously increases the limit set by the ministry to 3 MWh. This level also includes families with the Large Family Card (families with at least 3 kids – ed.). For individual customers, the rate is PLN 693 per MWh.
Head of PGE: Establishing NABE by the end of the year is feasible
– The process of transferring the coal assets to the National Energy Security Agency (NABE – ed.) is very complicated, but it is going according to plan. NABE has to be established, there is no doubt about that. The end of this year is a realistic date, but there are also financial issues, banks have their procedures and it may take some time – said Wojciech Dąbrowski, head of Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) in an interview.
– We do not need an exchange obligation to create NABE. It was introduced in 2018 to prevent market manipulation, but we accept all government action to lower energy prices. And so we will sell energy in a quasi-bidding mode, so the lifting of the obligation means that we will have to reorganize the sale, but we will still do it in a competitive manner – he added.