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Home › Dodgy Deals ›
Dodgy Deal
Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE)Poland

Company – On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

climate@banktrack.org

Last update: 2021-06-29 00:00:00
PGE headquarters in Warsaw. Photo: Adrian Grycuk via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 pl)

Company – On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date
Lead organisation:
BankTrack
Contact:

climate@banktrack.org

Last update: 2021-06-29 00:00:00
Why this profile?

Why this profile?

Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) is the EU's number 3 top CO2 emitter. 91% of PGE’s energy is generated from lignite and hard coal, higher than any other major European utility. The company negatively impacts the environment, human health and climate change due to its coal-fired energy generation and coal mining extraction. PGE is tracked as part of the Europe Beyond Coal campaign. PGE targets to phase out its coal-fired power station fleet by 2040-2045. 

About
Sectors Coal Electric Power Generation , Biomass Electric Power Generation, Coal Mining, Nuclear Electric Power Generation
Headquarters
Ownership
listed on Warsaw Stock Exchange

PGE is a majority state-owned company with the Polish State Treasury holding 57.39% of the shares. PGE's complete shareholder structure can be accessed here.

Subsidiaries
Website http://www.pge.com

PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, the parent company of the PGE Capital Group, is the largest producer of electricity and heat in Poland. As of 2019, the company has a 39% market share in energy generation. Its generation is 96% fossil fuel-based. PGE owns a series of conventional power plants, including the lignite-fired Turow power plant and Europe’s single biggest CO2 emitter: the Belchatów power plant. The company owns two large lignite mines where 43 million tonnes per year of lignite is mined. In total, PGE accounts for approximately 87% of Poland's lignite extraction. Besides lignite, PGE uses hard coal, gas and biomass in its generation processes.

Impacts

Social and human rights impacts

Polska Grupa Energetycza (PGE) is largely fossil-fuel based, with coal as its core source of energy. The company's hard coal and lignite plants accounted for 89% of its total generation. The use of coal-fired power plants negatively impacts human health, the environment and climate change. Coal-fired energy generation causes air pollution, which can affect people's health. Health issues that arise are illnesses (like bronchitis and asthma), but they can also result in premature deaths. Due to the health impacts of coal, considerable costs are created as well. In 2016, the total modelled premature deaths due to the air pollution caused by PGE’s operational coal power plants were 1,179 (median) people. The costs of health impact were estimated at EUR 1.789 billion. These costs are not covered by the coal sector, but are borne by society.

According to a 2016 report, Polish coal plants cause the most health damage in the EU and have caused 5,800 premature deaths across the EU. Of these deaths, 1,100 occurred in Poland. Moreover, the most damaging plant to human health in the EU, the coal power plant Belchatow, is owned by PGE.

PGE is targeting phasing out its coal-fired power station fleet by 2040-2045.


Environmental and climate impacts

As mentioned, coal pollution also negatively affects the climate. Coal-fired power generation processes emit greenhouse gases and therewith directly contribute to climate change. About two-thirds of PGE’s investments are still in hard coal and lignite and as recently as 2016 PGE acquired EDF’s coal assets, adding 3.3 GW of coal capacity. 

As reported in Europe's Dark Cloud, Polish coal plants are the worst CO2 emitters of the EU. Unsurprisingly, Poland is struggling to meet the European air pollution requirements. The worst CO2 emitter of the EU is the lignite-fired plant, Belchatow, which is owned by PGE. This plant emitted almost 38 milion tonnes of CO2 in 2017.

As reported by IEEFA, PGE is facing enormous pressure regarding the stricter standards on air pollution that will come into effect in 2021. The company is majority state-owned, and the Polish government is backing the use of coal. However, as market forces are shifting, the government is now facing economic pressures.
 

Financiers

PGE finances include debt finance in the form of bonds and loans from commercial banks and development banks EBRD and EIB. PGE lists its most important available financing here; financial institutions involved are listed below.

Dated February 2020, the following banks held shares and/or bonds in PGE: Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, UBS, DZ Bank, BNP Paribas, Santander, HSBC, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, Credit Suisse, KBC, PKO Bank Polski and Bank Pekao. For more details see Annex II on page 36-39 of the Fool's Gold report 2020.

In September 2018 PGE signed a EUR 950 million loan agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo, MUFG, Banco Santander and PKO Bank.

From 2014-2017, nine financial institutions loaned a total of USD 1.875 billion and provided underwriting services totalling USD 1.733 billion to PGE. These are specified below.

 

Institution type
Finance type
Year
Projects
There are no active project profiles for Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) now.

Złoczew lignite open-pit mine

Poland
Project
On record
Coal Mining

Złoczew lignite open-pit mine

Poland

Rybnik coal power plant

Poland
Project
On record
Coal Electric Power Generation

Rybnik coal power plant

Poland

Turów coal power plant

Poland
Project
On record
Coal Electric Power Generation

Turów coal power plant

Poland
News
BankTrack
Partners
Blog
External
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Greenpeace vs PGE: będzie kolejna rozprawa

2022-05-18 | Greenpeace
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Top 10 EU emitters all coal power plants in 2021

2022-04-08 | Ember-climate.org
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Subvertising stunt sees spoof Santander ads in Glasgow bus stops, two days before COP26 begins in the host city

2021-10-29 | Glasgow | BankTrack, Subvertisers
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Spoof Santander posters appear across Glasgow ahead of COP26

Spoof Santander posters have been appearing across Glasgow in an effort by climate campaigners to highlight the bank's funding of fossil fuels ahead of COP26.
BankTrack quoted
2021-10-29 | Glasgow | The National
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Poland's PGE expects coal assets carveout to be completed in 2022

2021-09-29 | Warsaw | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Announcement of Belchatow coal plant closure is turning point for health

2021-06-10 | HEAL
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Poland's Lodz Region publishes draft plans to close massive Belchatow power plant by 2036

2021-06-08 | Euronews
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

One year of illegal mining in Turow, Letter to the European Commission

2021-04-29 | European Environmental Bureau
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Poland should scrap coal and energy plan, environmentalists say

2020-11-25 | Reuters
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

NGOs release the 2020 Global Coal Exit List

935 companies that banks, investors and insurers need to avoid
2020-11-12 | Berlin | urgewald
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Give us back our water and homes: communities stand up to greedy coal

2020-09-25 | Germany, Poland
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

EU’s biggest coal plant must negotiate closure with environmental lawyers, court decides

2020-09-23 | Client Earth
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Campaigners urge Santander to set ambitious timetable for fossil fuel exit ahead of AGM

2020-04-02 | Nijmegen | BankTrack, Ecologistas en Accion, Foundation “Development YES - Open-Pit Mines NO”, IIDMA
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Poland close to scrapping Zloczew brown coal mine project

2019-12-18 | Reuters
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Santander criticised for investments in Polish coal expansion

2019-10-17 | Environmental Finance
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Santander criticised for investments in Polish coal expansion

BankTrack quoted
2019-10-17 | Environmental Finance
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

How long will Santander continue to profit from Polish coal expansion?

The Spanish bank's use of ‘ESG loans’ for companies with fossil fuel expansion plans is part of a dangerous new trend
2019-10-16 | Greig Aitken – BankTrack, Kuba Gogolewski – Development YES Open-Pit Mines NO
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

IEEFA update: Poland’s PGE should ditch plans for new lignite mine

2019-10-08 | IEEFA
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

European utilities at risk from Credit Agricole’s new 2030 coal exit stance

2019-06-07 | IEEFA
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Fool’s Gold – €16bn for Europe’s biggest climate polluters

2019-05-21 | Berlin | Europe Beyond Coal
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Santander’s deep support for fossil fuel industry challenged at bank’s AGM

2019-04-12 | Santander, Spain | BankTrack, Foundation “Development YES - Open-Pit Mines NO”
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Banks be warned – Poland’s PGE wants to blow the house and the climate on coal expansion extravaganza

Latest distress signal from new financial results another reason for potential financiers to walk away
2019-03-14 | Warsaw, Poland | Kuba Gogolewski – Development YES Open-Pit Mines NO
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Legal challenge to massive Polish coal mine

2019-03-05 | The Ecologist
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Financial institutions’ tightening coal policies pressure utilities to change

2019-02-26 | Kaarina Kolle – Europe Beyond Coal
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

IEEFA Europe: PGE’s pro-coal strategy in Poland under fire

2018-12-21 | IEEFA
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Santander move on coal finance welcome but ‘far from enough’ to address its climate impacts, say groups

2018-12-13 | Madrid, Spain | BankTrack, Ecologistas en Accion, IIDMA
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Major new coal support loan for Poland's PGE, international bank consortium slammed

2018-09-20 | Warsaw, Poland | BankTrack, Foundation Development YES Open-Pit Mines NO, ReCommon, Sandbag
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

PGE Press release: signing of the loan agreement

2018-09-17 | PGE
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Poland's pro-coal government goes green

2018-09-05 | Deutsche Welle
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Answers to PGE shareholders at PGE annual meeting

(in Polish)
2018-07-19 | Tuinwestor.pl
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

IEEFA Europe: As risks mount, Poland’s PGE struggles to break from its fossil fuel past

Utility company’s actions contradict its stated intent to change
2018-06-14 | Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

IEEFA report: Poland’s biggest utility is risking financial instability by doubling down on coal-fired generation

2018-06-12 | Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Exclusive: PGE picks Baltic wind over nuclear as Poland embraces green power

2018-05-10 | Reuters
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Commerzbank tolerates financing of the coal energy sector in Poland

2018-05-09 | Poland | Ecological Association Eko-Unia
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Even Europe's Coal Addict Wants to Get Clean

At the birthplace of Poland’s uprising against communism, work is under way on another revolution.
2018-04-27 | Bloomberg
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

PGE bets on lignite (coverage)

2017-08-14 | Biznes Alert
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

New database reveals world’s biggest coal plant developers

120 companies paving the road towards climate chaos
2017-06-29 | Berlin | urgewald
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

Climate Finance Day: BNP Paribas failing to respect coal finance commitments

One year after COP21, French bank has still not excluded Polish coal company PGE from client list
2016-11-03 | Paris, France | BankTrack, Fair Finance France, Foundation Development YES Open-Pit Mines NO, Les Amis de la Terre
Blog
BankTrack news BankTrack blog Partner news Partner blog

BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank and ING invest €1.34 billion in coal

FairFin, Climaxi and BankTrack ask for green investments
2014-06-03 | Brussels | FairFin
Resources
Documents
Links
2020-07-15 00:00:00

Fool's Gold

The financial institutions risking our renewable energy future with coal
BankTrack publication
2020-07-15 00:00:00 | Europe Beyond Coal, BankTrack, BlackRock’s Big Problem, Ember, Fundacja "Rozwój TAK - Odkrywki NIE”, Friends of the Earth Finland, Friends of the Earth France, Greenpeace, Reclaim Finance, Re:Common, ShareAction, Urgewald, 350 Japan
2020-06-22 00:00:00

PGE - A briefing for investors, insurers and banks

NGO document
2020-06-22 00:00:00 | Europe Beyond Coal
2019-10-08 00:00:00

To embrace a profitable energy future, Poland’s PGE must abandon plans for a new lignite mine

Other document
2019-10-08 00:00:00 | IEEFA
2019-05-21 00:00:00

Fool's Gold

The financial institutions bankrolling Europe’s most coal-dependent utilities
NGO document
2019-05-21 00:00:00 | Europe Beyond Coal
2019-04-30 00:00:00

Annual report 2018

Annual report
2019-04-30 00:00:00 | PGE
2018-12-31 00:00:00

PGE - A briefing for investors, insurers and banks

NGO document
2018-12-31 00:00:00 | Europe Beyond Coal
2018-09-30 00:00:00

PGE case study

NGO document
2018-09-30 00:00:00 | Greenpeace, CEE Bankwatch Network
2018-11-20 00:00:00

Last Gasp - The coal companies making Europe sick

NGO document
2018-11-20 00:00:00 | Climate Action Network Europe
2018-09-17 00:00:00

European Coal Plant Database

Other document
2018-09-17 00:00:00 | Europe Beyond Coal
2016-06-10 00:00:00

Europe's Dark Cloud

How Coal-Burning Countries Are Making Their Neighbours Sick
NGO document
2016-06-10 00:00:00 | Sandbag, Health and Environment Alliance, Greenpeace, Climate Action Network, WWF European Policy Office
2017-12-31 00:00:00

Report on non-financial data of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. and PGE Group for 2017

Company document
2017-12-31 00:00:00 | PGE
2017-12-31 00:00:00

PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. Separate financial statements for 2017

Company document
2017-12-31 00:00:00 | PGE
2018-06-30 00:00:00

Decision Time at Poland’s PGE

Why a High - Risk, Fossil - Heavy Strategy Doesn’t Add Up
Other document
2018-06-30 00:00:00 | IEEFA
2009-05-11 00:00:00

The electricity market leader in Poland

Company document
2009-05-11 00:00:00 | PGE

Europe Beyond Coal campaign website

Fossil Free EIB campaign website

ClientEarth website

Updates

2019

2019-08-27 00:00:00 | PGE abandons proposed Gubin-Brody lignite mine

Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has abandoned plans for the proposed Gubin-Brody lignite mine after a decade-long campaign against the project by local residents and Greenpeace Poland. The proposed open-cut lignite mine would have displaced up to 3,000 people and destroyed 15 villages and agricultural land. In a referendum in 2009 a majority of voters opposed the project while over 7,000 people attended an August 2014 rally against the plan. In 2016 environmental regulators found major deficiencies in the company’s environment assessment and allowed up to three years for the deficiencies to be addressed. At the expiry of the three years, the Regional Director for Environmental Protection announced the application for the project has lapsed.

2019-03-05 00:00:00 | Legal challenge of PGE's Zloczew coal mine by Polish NGO ClientEarth

Approval for a huge new coal mine that would leave 3,000 people in search of new homes is being challenged by ClientEarth’s lawyers in Poland. The Zloczew open-cast mine would be Poland’s deepest ever and, for the first time, use explosives to access the lignite (the dirtiest form of coal) beneath the surface. This project of state-owned energy company PGE, would result in the displacement and destruction of 33 villages, including highly specialised modern farms, homes, schools, shops, chapels and fire stations.

2018

2018-09-17 00:00:00 | PGE signs EUR 950 million credit facility

In September 2018 PGE signed a EUR 950 million loan agreement with Intesa Sanpaolo, MUFG, Banco Santander and PKO Bank.

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