Poland to compensate energy-intensive firms as power price rises

The Polish government has approved a draft law that offers compensation for the rising power prices to energy-intensive companies, the Entrepreneurship and Technology Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday. Having approved the draft, the government will be able to launch an official notification procedure with the European Commission. The first compensations, which will be worth about EUR 209m) each year, are to be paid in 2020. The payments will be related to the previous year. Poland will spend up to 25 percent of the proceeds it gets from the CO2 emission allowance sales on the compensation. To be eligible for compensation, companies must operate in such energy-intensive sectors as the manufacturing of certain metals, plastics, inorganic chemicals, fertilisers and paper, as well as extraction of minerals needed for such production. The government estimates that some 300 companies will be eligible for the state support.