Govt to consolidate energy sector

The Ministry of the Treasury will present a report on consolidation of Polish energy industry through the end of January, Polish Press Agency reported. The government is willing to strengthen the regional position of the sector, “We seek to increase the importance of Poland’s energy industry on the European market...,” Treasury Minister Włodzimierz Karpiński said. Since “Polish power producers are too small compared to their European competitors,” some mergers are to be carried out, Karpiński added. The Polish energy sector is controlled by such utilities as PGNiG, PGE, Tauron Polska Energia, Energa and Enea. The plan excludes PGNiG, the biggest gas producer. As Bloomberg pointed out, the combined value of the remaining companies is comparable to the value of Czech CEZ AS or German EON AG. In 2010, the government wanted PGE to acquire Energa, but it failed to convince the PGE’s management board. The consolidated companies would be able to purchase stakes in the new entity created after restructuring of the mining sector, the ministry stated.