ENERGA Group is one of the key Polish companies providing energy generated from hard coal. Together with another company ENEA, it is preparing development of a new coal unit Ostrołęka C. This strategy constitutes yet another step to further increase ENERGA’s coal dependence which makes it incompatible with the EU climate policy and the Paris Climate Agreement.

In the ENERGA Group Strategy for years 2016-2025 (of 15.11.2016) climate commitments and supply diversification are listed as key tasks which must be completed in the following years.

How is ENERGA going to contribute to the proportionate part of the EU climate commitments (until 2020) to which Poland committed in 2009, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions stemming from the Paris Agreement on climate protection of 2014, ratified by Poland in 2016? – Diana Maciąga, Association Workshop for All Being, asked during the AGM.

Shareholders aske several other questions related to ENERGA financing:

·        Under what market conditions, according to ENERGA, will the Ostrołęka C project be economically viable – does the project require any additional financial aid mechanisms aid if so – what are they and are they guaranteed?

·        While developing the Ostrołęka C project, does ENERGA take into consideration the risk of public resistance and health and environmental hazards as well as the need to comply with the new emission standards set by the IED Directive applicable from January 2016 and the binding BAT/BREF limits?

·        What consequences for the minority Shareholders of ENERGA would the two alternative scenarios have: decision to construct the Ostrołęka C power plant or abandoning this project? What would be the correspondent dividends paid by ENERGA (up until 2025)?

In spite of the global trend to phase out coal, manifested in closing coal-powered power plants and in many banks withdrawing their financial support for such projects, ENERGA keeps developing a new, 1000 MW coal-fired unit at Ostrołeka which is going to be a new source of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions – explains Diana Maciąga.

The questions were sumitted to ENERGA’s Board prior to the AGM. It is a common practice that during AGMs the shareholders may ask questions and enter into a direct dialogue with Boards as it is done during the AGM of another Polish energy company – PGE – which also broadcasts the AGM online. Unfortunately, ENERGA did not provide for such possibility. There was no room for questions during the AGM but the company committed to answer them in writing in 14 days.

We are aware of the fact that the questions are not easy to answer and we understand that the company needs time to address them. Yet we do regret that the time for discussion was not found during the AGM. We feel that by doing this ENERGA prevents shareholders from engaging in dialogue with the Board and reduces it to exchange of letters, and the AGM – to a voting machine – concludes Diana Maciąga.

Contact:
Diana Maciąga, Stowarzyszenie Pracownia na rzecz Wszystkich Istot (Association Workshop for All Beings)
diana@pracownia.org.pl