Polish parliament OKs plan to cap electricity prices

Poland’s parliament has definitively approved a government plan to cap the prices of electricity as part of efforts to protect households, local governments and businesses from rising energy costs driven by Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The lower house of Poland's parliament in session on Thursday, October 27, 2022.

Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell

The Polish government earlier this month adopted a proposal under which the price of electricity for local governments, small and medium-sized companies as well as "sensitive recipients" such as schools and hospitals would be capped at PLN 785 (EUR 163) per 1 MWh, according to officials.

Meanwhile, the price of energy consumed by households, above limits established in an earlier bill, would be capped at PLN 693 (EUR 144) per 1 MWh, officials told reporters.

In a final vote, Polish MPs on Thursday backed those plans, overriding a number of modifications introduced earlier to the bill by the upper house of parliament, the Senate, state news agency PAP reported.

❗️#Sejm rozpatrzył poprawki Senatu do ustawy o cenach maksymalnych prądu w 2023 r.

👉Ustawa o środkach nadzwyczajnych mających na celu ograniczenie wysokości cen energii elektrycznej oraz wsparciu niektórych odbiorców w 2023 roku trafi do podpisu @prezydentpl. pic.twitter.com/8Fp5xjaDDT

— Sejm RP🇵🇱 (@KancelariaSejmu) October 27, 2022

The legislation now goes to President Andrzej Duda for signing into law.

The government has allocated PLN 19.7 billion (EUR 4.1 billion) for the programme, according to the Polish Prime Minister’s Office.

The initiative is designed to protect customers from the effects of rising prices of energy in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, government officials have said.

(gs)

Source: PAP