Poland needs less than a year to shape coal asset spin-off, minister says

Enea SA

03/09/2024 06:00

WARSAW, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Poland needs less than a year
to prepare a model to spin off coal assets from state-controlled
utilities as it is analysing the lifespans of dozens of power
units that meet most of the country's electricity demand, the
state assets minister said.
    Poland's government has yet to announce an alternative after
a plan was scrapped last year to spin off coal-fired power
plants from state-controlled utilities to increase the focus on
green energy, and as banks seek to avoid financing
coal-dependent companies.
    Jakub Jaworowski in an interview with a small group of
journalists said the coal-asset spin-off was still a priority
but more time is needed to determine when the ageing coal-fired
power units could be decommissioned, while also taking into
account the financial and social impact. 
    "Of course something has to happen in the next 12 months,
that's definitely the horizon," Jaworowski said, adding that he
could not yet say what the outcome of the analysis might be.
    "But it's definitely less than a year for something to
become clear."
    The state assets ministry is considering a "middle ground"
solution and is analysing the future of each power unit rather
than considering the spin-off of entire power generation
subsidiaries that consist of several plants, he said. 
    Under the former administration's plan, the subsidiaries of
PGE, Tauron and Enea that operate coal-fired power plants were
to be bundled into a new state-owned company NABE that would pay
their debts.
    "NABE was a somewhat nuclear option," Jaworowski said,
adding there were several less extreme alternatives, rather than
the previous, all or nothing solution. 
    PGE and Tauron have been urging the government to come up
with a rapid plan for their coal-fired power plants as their
profitability is declining. 
    Fitch Ratings said in March that Polish utilities risked
credit downgrades unless the government delivered an alternative
to the previous administration's solution.

 (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki, additional reporting by Anna
Koper; editing by Barbara Lewis)
 ((Marek.Strzelecki@thomsonreuters.com;))