The Polish Parliament has decided to remove the power price cap for large electricity consumers set in December 2018, that did not work due to missing supplementary regulations. The price cap for mid-size and large companies will be removed on 1 July 2019, while the largest power consumers will be supported according to a new legislation to be adopted soon.
Wholesale power prices surged in 2018, owing to soaring power generation costs, in a context of rising coal prices and higher CO2 emission costs. Steelmaker ArcelorMittal decided to temporarily close its Krakow furnace due to surging electricity prices, while other industrial users faced 9-29% increases in electricity prices. In December 2018, ahead of local and European elections, the ruling party introduced a cap on power prices, in an attempt to freeze prices at mid-2018 levels. The price cap worked on households (regulated prices) but failed for companies and local authorities purchasing electricity at market prices. In addition, the European Commission questioned the regulations.