Azerbaijan energy partner to Poland

Poland supports the Azeri drive to join European nations as a reliable and diverse energy partner, Poland's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Kshishtof Krayevski said.

Krayevski said in an interview with Azeri news agency Today.Az that 2008 was a significant year for strengthening relations between Warsaw and Baku, noting the participation of Polish President Lech Kaczynski at a major energy summit in Baku in November.

"We always support Azerbaijan's intention to integrate with the Euro-Atlantic structures; we are cooperating in the sphere of diversification of energy supplies to Europe," the envoy said.

Europe put renewed focus on energy diversity in 2008. January 2009 brought increased emphasis on that goal following a decision by Russia to halt gas supplies to Europe following a debt row with Ukraine.

The envoy addressed the crisis, noting that while Warsaw and Moscow are important partners in the energy sector, the European Union needs to focus on alternative gas routes as 80 percent of the Russian gas for Europe travels through Ukraine.

"I think the conflict between Russia and Ukraine proved the importance and the need to diversify energy supplies," he said. "It turned out that Europe, including the EU states such as Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria, are too dependent on supplies from Russia."
Source:upi.com

Poland not threatened by Ukraine gas crisis

Poland has enough gas reserves and is not threatened with the shortages that other central European countries are experiencing, says Zbigniew Chlebowski, head of the ruling Civic Platform’s parliamentary party.



Chlebowski told Polish Radio this morning that Poland imports much of its gas via a pipeline from Belarus, so the total shut off of gas from Ukraine has only cut supplies by a total of 16 percent.



Poland’s gas usage has increased by 10 million cubic meters daily due to the recent snap of sub zero temperatures.

A statement by gas monopoly, PGNiG, said that reserves were being drawn on and supply to some industrial clients has been limited. Companies such as oil giant Orlen have experienced around a 14 percent drop in supply.



Eighteen countries are experiencing shortages, some severe. Slovakia declared a state of emergency, Wednesday, and is considering restarting a nuclear power plant to make up for the shortfall in energy.
Source:polskieradio.pl

Poland aims to sell Enea stake for $2.4 bln -report

Poland wants to sell its remaining 76.5 percent stake in utility Enea ENEAa.WA, minority owned by Sweden's Vattenfall [VATN.UL], for 7 billion zlotys ($2.4 billion), the treasury minister was quoted as saying on Monday.

In November, Poland sold 19 percent of Enea to Vattenfall for 1.7 billion zlotys as part of Warsaw's largest initial public offering last year.

The state-owned Swedish energy group has already said it wants ultimately to hold all of Enea.

"If we sell all of Enea, as planned, we should get some 7 billion zlotys," Treasury Minister Alkesander Grad in an interview with Gazeta Wyborcza.

Although Grad has said any investor would be allowed to bid for the Enea stake, Vattenfall is seen as the most likely buyer.

Grad added he hoped Vattenfall would also buy the remaining stakes of two other Polish energy companies, GZE and Vattenfall Heat Poland, for about 1.2 billion zlotys in early 2009. Poland was close to unloading the stakes in December, but Vattenfall backed out at the last minute over a disagreement with energy regulator URE on electricity prices.
Source: By Patryk Wasilewski, Will Waterman, reuters.com

Poland wins emissions deal

An EU summit ended in a good deal for Poland, but the UN climate conference appeared to accomplish little
A draft compromise on CO2 emissions cuts, agreed upon at an EU summit in Brussels in December, states that Poland will receive up to 70 percent of its emission allowance for free. The exemption will be gradually phased out by 2020 and is considered a satisfactory improvement on the previous deal, which offered half the emissions allowance for free until 2016.

“Without doubt, [the summot] ended with our success,” said President Lech Kaczyński. Poland had threatened to veto the deal amid concerns that emissions credits would prove too expensive. Over 90 percent of Poland’s power comes from coal-dependent energy plants.

The draft deal creates a solidarity fund, retaining 10 percent of revenues from credit trading, which will be distributed among nine post-communist EU member states to help them invest in cleaner technologies.

An additional two percent of credit trading revenues will be divided among eastern EU members in recognition of the emissions reductions they achieved in the 1990s after the collapse of communism.

“The deal is flexible, allowing for the modernization of the Polish power sector and ensuring that there will not be any steep increase in electricity prices,” a Polish official told Reuters. In other news, on the sidelines of the UN climate change conference in Poznań, Poland entered into tentative agreements with Ireland and the World Bank, each of which will purchase carbon emission credits under the Kyoto Protocol. According to unofficial information, Ireland is ready to buy emission allowances worth EUR15 (zł.59.5) million, while the World Bank signed a separate deal to purchase 10 million tonnes of emissions for around EUR10 (zł.39.6) per tonne.

The Poznań summit finished with a proposal for a “Solidarity Partnership” declaration, but many delegates argued that too little had been done to move forward on climate-change countermeasures.

Source: By Marcin Poznan, Warsaw Business Journal

Foreign minister confirms Poland's participation in nuclear project

Poland will sign a deal with the three Baltic states on building a new nuclear power plant in Lithuania, Poland's foreign minister said Tuesday.

"We are very interested in this project. Poland hopes that, in cooperation with the Lithuanian government, this deal will be finalized and signed as soon as possible," Anna Fotyga said after meeting Lithuanian counterpart Petras Vaitiekunas.

Fotyga stressed that special agreements must be signed among private companies that plan to participate in the project, which could cost up to $5.3billion. The new plant is expected to be completed in 2015.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia signed a memorandum last year to build a new nuclear power plant to replace the aging Ignalina plant, which Lithuania is phasing out under orders from the European Union. Poland expressed its interest in joining the project in December.

Fear of reliance on Russian energy after the planned closure of the Ignalina plant in 2009 has sparked a flurry of activity in the regional energy industry, with Baltic leaders rushing to integrate their energy systems with those of other EU countries.

Also in December, Poland and Lithuania signed an agreement to connect their power grids.

The Ignalina plant, which provides some 80 percent of Lithuania's electricity, is similar in design to he Chernobyl reactor in Ukraine that became the site of he world's worst civilian nuclear accident in 1986.
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