No economic grounds for Polish energy firms to spin off coal assets, minister says
Poland is working to reduce its reliance on coal as renewable energy sources gain a larger share of the overall market, but it still needs a mechanism to support conventional power plants that provide electricity when intermittent renewable generation is low.
The ministry said in a press release that the economic assumptions for the previous coal asset plan were based on power prices from 2022 which were elevated due to the war in Ukraine.
Power prices have since more than halved, and the share of renewable power keeps rising.
Pressured by falling profits of their coal fleet, state-controlled utilities have stopped paying dividends. They are now calling for a plan to help them cover the operating costs of coal plants.
The country's top utility PGE (PGE.WA), opens new tab last month said it could resume regular dividend payments faster if the issue of the profitability of coal assets is resolved.
The ministry pointed out that under current rules, capacity payments for high-emission energy sources would be banned from 2028, but Poland needed additional support mechanisms to avoid a power gap from 2029.
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