Poland’s government plans to freeze electricity prices in 2023 at this year’s levels for the first 2,000 kilowatt-hours used by households. In addition, households that manage to reduce electricity use by 10% will be rewarded with a 10% price cut as an incentive to save energy.
“We want to encourage saving at this dramatic time, where there is a war going on across our eastern border and we have to bear the consequences of this nightmare energy policy, these mistakes of the German-Russian gas policy,” said Prime Minister Morawiecki yesterday, announcing the new policies.
Gwarantowana cena energii w ramach #TarczaSolidarnościowa:
➡️ 2000 kWh w gwarantowanej cenie z 2022 roku w przyszłym roku;
➡️ wyższy poziom 2600 kWh dla rodzin z Kartą Dużej Rodziny, rolników, rodzin z osobami niepełnosprawnymi. pic.twitter.com/unvq2A5cR5— Kancelaria Premiera (@PremierRP) September 15, 2022
Similar energy-saving measures are to be introduced in the public sector, with national and local authorities being obliged to reduce electricity consumption by 10% from 1 October 2022.
The guaranteed energy price will apply up to 2,000 kilowatt hours per year for all households, and up to 2,600 kilowatt hours per year for families with three or more children, disabled people and farmers. “Only the surplus will be charged at a higher cost for next year,” explained Morawiecki.
The government will also offer support to high-energy-use industries in the form of subsidies for electricity and gas purchases, said development minister Waldemar Buda.
From next year, such firms will also have the opportunity to connect directly to renewable energy sources. Several hundred companies from industries such as metallurgy, ceramics, glass and fertiliser production will be eligible for the support, said Buda.
“The security of Polish families, the security of jobs, of Poles is, after all, directly linked to the security of businesses, their competitiveness, their ability to survive, especially those who consume the most energy,” said the prime minister.
The whole package of measures is estimated to cost over 30 billion zloty (€6.35 billion). Poland has already earmarked 11.5 billion zloty for coal subsidies for households and an additional 13.7 billion zloty for local authorities facing skyrocketing energy bills.
Main photo credit: Ivan Radic/Flickr (under CC BY 2.0)
Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.
