Enea and Energa increase spending on the development of Ostrołęka block

WSE-listed power utilities Enea and Energa expect that the spending for the development stage of the new 1,000 MW power block at the Ostrołęka plant will increase to PLN 226 million for each of the companies. “The increase in investment outlays is due to the provision of funds, including for organizational work that will result from the contract with the general contractor, related investments and the operation of the company,” both companies said in separate market filings. Moreover, Enea acquired 1.2 million shares in the SPV for this project for PLN 58 million from Energa. Now, both companies hold equal 50 percent stake in the investments but do not exclude finding additional investors for the project. Previous estimates, put Enea’s involvement in this stage of the project at PLN 128 million, while Energa’s expected PLN 27 million expenditures. Last week, the management board of the SPV recommended selecting the GE Power/Alstom joint bid to build the block, which stood at PLN 6.02 billion. However, both utilities noted that the recommendation and the aforementioned annex is not equivalent to picking a general contractor for the project. Three offers were submitted in the tender for the construction of block. The lowest bid of PLN 4.85 billion was submitted by China Power Engineering, the highest by the consortium of Polimex Mostostal and Rafako for PLN 9.59 billion. Energa previously said that it plans to spend PLN 4.8 billion on the scheme. The company is also one of the shareholders of Polimex-Mostostal along with other state-run utilities and natural gas giant PGNiG. The decision on the outcome of the tender is expected to be announced in April.