Anna Moskwa made the declaration ahead of an extraordinary meeting of EU energy ministers in Brussels, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
She said: “The ETS remains our biggest challenge today, not just in terms of energy transition, but energy security.”
She added: “For the Polish heating plants, for instance, one of the main concerns before the autumn and winter season, apart from fuel, is paying the high ETS fees.”
“We expect solidarity in that regard, as well, because this is our problem, this is our challenge and we expect it to be discussed,” Moskwa stated.
She told reporters that the EU’s new plan to reduce gas use in the bloc by 15 percent, "did not put any obligations on Poland."
She added that “such was Poland’s aim” in the negotiations and that Brussels "appreciated Poland’s independent efforts" to limit gas usage and to fill up the country’s storage facilities.
Plan to reduce gas use
The European Commission last week called for a 15 percent cut in natural gas use by EU member states as they struggle with an energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Commission said it was proposing "a new legislative tool and a European Gas Demand Reduction Plan" to reduce gas use in Europe by 15 percent between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023.
It added that "all consumers, public administrations, households, owners of public buildings, power suppliers and industry can and should take measures to save gas."
The EU executive promised to accelerate work to diversify supplies, including through joint purchases of gas "to strengthen the EU's possibility of sourcing alternative gas deliveries."
The European Commission's head, Ursula von der Leyen, said Russia was "using gas as a weapon" and added that energy security had to be addressed at the EU level.
At the moment, Europe imports some 40 percent of its gas from Russia, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Tuesday is day 153 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP