WARSAW/GDANSK -Due diligence of PGE's coal-fired power generation assets is underway as part of a carve-out process under a government plan, the Polish company's chief executive Wojciech Dabrowski said on Wednesday.
"The coal asset spinoff is going according to plan. The due diligence process aimed at evaluating the assets is underway and I hope we will know the details of the agreements soon," Dabrowski told a news briefing.
Poland plans to take over coal assets excluding hard coal mines owned by its utilities by the end of 2022, and then transfer them to a new state-owned company.
The new model aims to help state-controlled utilities fund green projects as banks avoid backing coal-dependant companies.
Dabrowski said that while margins on power generated from coal are "tempting", the company is sticking to the government's plan to complete the operation on time.
PGE plans to import 10 million tonnes of coal from Columbia, Indonesia and Australia by the end of April next year, to make up for a shortfall due to a ban on the fuel from Russia in place since April.
The utility did not reveal the costs of additional coal imports but the chief executive said it will supply coal to every entity that requests it, selling the fuel at a minimal margin.
Poland is coping with a massive increase in coal prices and shortages of the fuel after banning imports from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
