Polish Briefing: The government may withdraw from energy price compensation

What goes on in Poland on the 5th of March.

The government may withdraw from energy price compensation, but it will help those affected by energy poverty

“At the moment, we are not working on a compensation project for increases in electricity prices; there will be a program related to the so-called energy poverty, targeted at people who need additional financial support due to electricity prices,” said government spokesman Piotr Müller, quoted by the Polish Press Agency.

In his opinion, “over the last year, quite a lot has changed when it comes to the world economy and the socio-economic life in general”. He explained that “in the last year, the largest epidemic in history after the Second World War, which affected the economy, broke out, and therefore part of the funds was necessarily redirected to help individual groups of workers”.

At the same time, the government plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure, Piotr Naimski, said that this project would be completed by June. He added that the relief will cover people with the lowest income.

When asked how quickly the government will decide what the possible compensation for rising electricity prices will look like, he said that by the end of the first half of this year, that is by June, this project will be completed, presented and introduced. The Ministry of Climate and Environment informed about the same date in December 2020.

“Generally, it can be said that those who earn the least, have to pay the most for energy as a percentage, and they will be granted these concessions,” Naimski added. When asked what the percentage would be, he indicated that “data is collected and also the cost of this support must be taken into account.”