Treasury Ministry has new concept for privatization of energy

While the deputy minister Andrzej Szarawarski stressed that several possibilities are under consideration and that the projects are in an early stage, anonymous informers revealed that the general framework for creating a new holding has already been accepted. "The chief aim is to provide Energia Polska with sufficient resources to survive in a more competitive environment after accession to the EU," said the source. To achieve this goal, the ministry plans to merge the Southern Energy Concern (PKE), which is to go public soon, with another power plant, presumably Kozienice along with its coal provider Bogdanka, and some of the distribution companies. This is the first time that the government opts for a so-called vertical merger on the energy market, instead of following the heavily criticized pattern of selling the most lucrative distribution companies first. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 17) M.K.