Polish state-owned power utilities will separate coal assets in 2021

The State Assets Ministry of Poland is expected to present a reform plan for state-owned power utilities operating coal assets by the end of 2020. Under the reform plan, power utilities would start separating coal from other assets in 2021, which is expected to facilitate financing for non-coal projects, as banks are increasingly reluctant to finance companies active in fossil fuels. PGE, whose power generation is mainly based on coal, is facing massive costs to invest in offshore wind and has called for a split of its coal assets to help raise financing for renewable projects. Earlier in August 2020, the government announced that it was planning to merge three power utilities, namely PGE (57.4% state-owned), Enea (51.5% state-owned) and Tauron (30.1% state-owned) into two companies: one new company would consolidate their coal and coal-fired assets, while non-coal assets would be grouped together in a separate entity. 

In addition, the Polish coal producer Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa (JSW) has announced that it would focus solely on coking coal and exit thermal coal. JSW is the European leading producer of high-quality hard coking coal and a major producer of coke. The company produced 14.8 Mt of coal (10.2 Mt of coking coal and 4.6 Mt of steam coal) and 3.2 Mt of coke in 2019

In September 2020, Poland approved a gradual closure of coal mines, with the last mines to shut in 2049. Production of coal and lignite in Poland has decreased since 2012, from 144 Mt to 112 Mt in 2019 (55% bituminous coal and 45% lignite). Coal and lignite account for 73% of Poland’s power mix.