There could be a shortage of up to 3-4 million tonnes of coal for individual consumers this year. In the coming days, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will give instructions to companies to purchase coal. It is feared that there will be a shortage of raw material for households and local heating plants in winter.
The newspaper stresses that larger purchases of coal abroad and increased mining in Poland are planned.
According to DGP information, the government is considering subsidies for each household heated with coal. It would operate alongside a system of subsidies for its suppliers, which will soon be launched.
The subsidy for households would amount to around PLN 1 000, which would cost the budget around PLN 10 billion. Subsidies for pellets and thermal modernisation of single-family buildings are also being discussed by the government.
The ministries are also considering recommendations put forward by the Ministry of State Assets, including zero VAT on coal in 2022 or lowering emission standards for this type of fuel (which would allow the use of lower quality raw material).
In addition to the issue of subsidies, next week the government is expected to announce the ‘Warm Flats’ programme, aimed at owners of flats in multi-apartment buildings, and from mid-July, adjustments will also be made to another government programme, ‘Clean Air’.
In April this year, the Economic Chamber of Polish Coal Sellers, in an open letter to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, pointed out that as a result of the sanctions imposed on Russia, Poland could face a shortage of up to 11 million tonnes of coal, including 5 million tonnes in the municipal sector alone.
To offset these shortages, it was then proposed that the VAT rate on coal is reduced to zero at least by the end of the year and that a wider stream of high-quality, cheaper domestic fuel coals be redirected to the municipal and utility sector through dealer networks. Lower quality imported coals could go to the power industry, which is better equipped to burn them.
Adrian Andrzejewski