Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has signed a preliminary agreement to purchase PKPE Holding sp. z o.o., the owner of PKP Energetyka. Following the final completion of the transaction, PGE will become the owner of the company with exclusive rights to supply energy to the railway sector and to provide overhead line maintenance services.

The repolonisation of PKP Energetyka is the result of the announcements and efforts of the current government. „The decision to take control of this company means the rectification of a huge mistake, which was the privatisation of a company strategic for Polish security”, said Andrzej Adamczyk, Minister of Infrastructure, and emphasised that this is a very important event for the Polish railway, because issues related to energy security on the railway are returning to normal, not only from the perspective of the railway line manager, but also the security of passenger and cargo transport.

PKP Energetyka, which used to be part of the infrastructure of the Polish State Railways, is now a modern group of companies and one of the largest entities in the Polish electricity system. It is responsible for the distribution of 4 TWh of electricity per year, which accounts for 2.9 per cent of all energy supplied in the country. It uses 21,500 km of power lines for this purpose.

The company has undergone an extensive modernisation programme in recent years, spending PLN 3.8 billion on investments.  It currently has 6 modern grid control centres controlled by 52,000 intelligent energy meters (AMI). The infrastructure is complemented by 814 traction substations and cabins, 6,213 substations and 70 network trains. The company carries out its tasks with 4,200 employees.

Adrian Andrzejewski