Coal news and updates

Poland to separate state coal assets to boost investment in lower emission energy

Poland’s government has approved plans to move state-owned coal mines and power stations to a separate entity. The aim is to help the state energy firms that currently own the assets to more easily find financing for low- and zero-emission investments.

However, while some analysts have welcomed the move, others have raised concern over how it will be financed, the government’s decision to avoid scrutiny by the competition office, and the market power of the newly formed entity that will hold the coal assets.

This week, the cabinet adopted a document entitled “Transformation of the electricity sector in Poland”, announced Jacek Sasin, who serves as both deputy prime minister and minister for state assets.

The plans foresee the establishment later this year of a new entity, the National Energy Security Agency (NABE), which will purchase coal assets from existing state-owned energy firms PGE, Tauron, Enea and Energa.

Those assets are substantial: Poland still generates around 70% of its electricity from coal; the Bełchatów coal-fired power station – located in the centre of the country and owned by PGE – is the largest in Europe and the continent’s biggest single emitter of CO2.