Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki announced the measures at a news conference in Warsaw on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Energy price capped at PLN 785 per MWh
Morawiecki told the media: “As promised, we are introducing a cap on energy prices for the so-called sensitive recipients, local governments, as well as small and medium-sized companies, up to a usage limit approved by the European Commission, at a level of PLN 785 (EUR 162) per MWh.”
Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa added that the energy price cap would be financed “from the revenues of energy providers.”
“If they turn out to be insufficient, additional funds will be released from the state budget,” she said.
Effort 'to provide security to Polish families and entrepreneurs'
Morawiecki declared: “We have designed this measure so that sensitive recipients, local governments, but also small and medium-sized companies can best survive this difficult period of the next 12-15 months, until the end of the next year. We are especially keen to help Polish firms.”
He added: "All our measures are designed to provide security to Polish families and entrepreneurs and ensure competitiveness."
'Sensitive recipients'
Moskwa explained that “sensitive recipients” included schools, higher education institutions, nurseries, fosterages, hospitals, homeless people's shelters, social cooperatives “and all other institutions working with sensitive people, people with disabilities.”
Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said that “small and mid-sized firms, eligible for the energy price cap, constitute 99 percent of Polish businesses, 2.3 million in total.”
Moskwa told reporters that the energy price cap for small and medium-sized companies would "apply up to a usage limit of 80 percent of average consumption over the previous five years."
Meanwhile, Morawiecki declared that for households, "energy consumed above the amount subject to the price cap, will cost less than PLN 700 (EUR 145) per MWh," the PAP news agency reported.
In late September, Poland’s lower house approved a bill to freeze next year’s electricity prices for households at 2022 levels to help with mounting energy costs.
Tuesday is day 230 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, energetyka24.pl