CO2 emissions permit prices exceed historic €100/t mark in Poland

The price of CO2 emission allowances purchased by Polish power plants, heating plants, and large industrial plants has exceeded the historical barrier of €100/t in December contracts. The president of the Industrial Energy and Energy Consumers Chamber (IEPiOE), Henryk Kaliś, explains that this is due to the increased demand for allowances after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The rise in demand for CO2 emission allowances was due to the limitation of expensive gas usage, leading to a return to coal-based energy. This increase in demand will result in higher wholesale energy prices, which will eventually affect all energy consumers' bills in the future.

However, current electricity prices for households were frozen at the 2022 level, and the maximum prices for micro, small, and medium-sized companies, sensitive entities (such as schools, hospitals, and nurseries), and local governments were set. Recent record-breaking CO2 emission allowance prices have not yet been reflected in energy prices on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Experts note that recent changes in the law have disrupted the energy market, including the abolition of the obligation for power plants to sell all their energy on the exchange and the introduction of maximum prices on the balancing market.

Source: ISBnews