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Factsheet for measure PL-2022-34/2777 Updated – measures in Poland

Coal subsidy for households

Dodatek węglowy

Country Poland , applies nationwide
Time period Temporary, 17 August 2022 – 30 November 2022
Context War in Ukraine, Green Transition, Cost of Living Crisis
Type Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category Promoting the economic, labour market and social recovery into a green future
– Support for energy bills
Author Jan Czarzasty (Warsaw School of Economics)
Measure added 24 August 2022 (updated 02 March 2023)

Background information

Many Polish households relay on coal as their main energy source. Due to many economic and political factors, the price of coal has rapidly increased. The price of a ton of coal in Poland increased from approx. PLN 1,000 (approx. €213) to about PLN 3,000 (€638) as of 24 August 2022. Therefore, the Council of Ministers adopted the act (Dz. U. 2022 poz. 1692) to subsidise coal purchases for all the eligible households, which was submitted by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, on 22 July 2022.

Content of measure

All households whose main source of heating is coal or carbon-based fuels containing at least 85% of hard coal can submit their applications for the financial support equal to PLN 3,000 (approx. €638). The application has to be submitted to the municipal offices across Poland from 17 August 2022 until 30 November 2022.

The allowance will be also granted to households that have already purchased coal before the legislation has been passed. The source of the heating is broad and includes i.a. boilers, air heating, and different types of stoves. However, to be eligible for the subsidy, the heating source of each household has to be reported to the Central Emission Register of Buildings.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

03 November 2022

On 3 November 2022 an amendment to the Coal Subsidy Act entered into force. The amendment increased the budget for the payment of the coal subsidy from PLN 11.5 billion to PLN 13.5 billion (€2.83 billion as of 19 November 2015).

Use of measure

30 November 2022 was the last day to apply for the carbon subsidy. According to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, as of 12 December 2022, 5 million applications had been submitted, of which 4.5 million had been processed and 600,000 were still under review.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Does not apply to workers Does not apply to businesses Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
National government
National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role No involvement No involvement
Form Not applicable Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • No involvement
  • Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Unknown.

Views and reactions

Unknown.

Sources

Citation

Eurofound (2022), Coal subsidy for households, measure PL-2022-34/2777 (measures in Poland), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/PL-2022-34_2777.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.