Poland's climate ministry needs coal assets' plans from state assets ministry to shape power market

The Ministry of Climate and Environment (MKiS) needs information from the Ministry of State Assets (MAP) on the form of coal assets' spin-off and their future ownership structure in order to further shape the power market, climate ministry Paulina Hennig-Kloska told press.

The state assets minister Jakub Jaworowski told his first interview on August 29 with, among others, PAP Biznes, that decisions on coal assets in energy companies should be made within a year and need not be as 'binary' as in the NABE project. In his view, energy state-controlled companies no longer have financing space.

Asked on Tuesday by PAP Biznes whether a year is not too long, the climate minister Paulina Hennig-Kloska replied that her ministry needs this information above all to further shape the power market.

“The form of spin-off [of coal assets - PAP ed.] is important from the point of view of further shaping of the power market, (...) so we are waiting for this decision, while somehow we do not particularly participate in it,” she said.

“We know very well that while gas is to gain support after 2030, coal blocks are being eliminated from this support by the Commission. To discuss anything at all, we need to know the ownership structure, and from this point of view we need concrete information and plans from the state assets ministry," Hennig-Kloska noted.

Asked about the recommendations on the power market recently sent by the Ministry of State Assets, including that talks with the European Commission on the so-called derogation should be conducted in such a way that supplementary auctions for units not meeting the 550 g CO2/kWh emission limits (EPS 550 limit) should be organized according to the model of 3 supplementary auctions in one year for a period of 3 years, she replied that in this regard the EC guidelines are clear.

“Here, the EC makes it clear that if we want to do it the way the [energy - PAP ed.] companies want, we have to notify the entire power market from the beginning. We can't afford to do that. If we want to negotiate the extension of the power market beyond 2030, we can't afford the infringement procedure either, so we are somewhat limited in what we can do," Hennig-Kloska said.

“For a full notification of the power market or supplementary auctions of one year, we have neither the time nor should we probably take such a risk,” she added.

The climate minister informed that at the moment her ministry is waiting for a full analysis by Poland's grid operator PSE as to the risks, shortcomings and needs of the power system, which will confirm the continued need for the power market.

“But we also have a final mission planned (to Brussels) between September 9 and 11. A Polish delegation, in cooperation between the climate and state assets ministries, is going to Brussels for final talks on this issue, that is, these supplementary auctions," Hennig-Kloska announced.

She explained that experts “literally” reading the EU regulation say that supplementary auctions for power plants in the power market must be conducted after supplementary and basic auctions, i.e. once a year, and if Poland wants otherwise, it should conduct a full new notification of the power market at the EC.

The minister noted that there is not yet an appointed energy commissioner in the new EC, and today Poland has no partner for talks at the political level on the issue.

jz/ ao/ nl/