Background information

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has affected gas availability and prices in Europe. Russia's war in Ukraine also contributes to higher electricity prices, which were already high due to increased production after the pandemic.

In response to high electricity and energy commodity prices, the Polish government introduced subsidies for households. The government also decided to support companies affected by high prices.

The programme "Support for energy-intensive sectors in connection with the sudden increase in the price of natural gas and electricity in 2022" was developed on the basis of the Act of 29 September 2022 on the principles of implementation of support programmes for entrepreneurs in connection with the citation of the energy market in 2022-2024. (Dz.U. 2022 poz. 2088), which entered into force on 29 September 2022.

Content of measure

Entrepreneurs operating in Poland who meet two cumulative conditions will be eligible for the programme:

• The cost of purchasing electricity and natural gas accounted for at least 3% of their production value in 2021 or 6% of their production value in the first half of 2022.
• At least half of their turnover or production value comes from activities in PRODCOM codes included in the European Commission's list of vulnerable sectors.

There will be two aid ceilings depending on the financial situation of the entrepreneur. The basic limit is 50% of the eligible costs, up to a maximum of €4 million per capital group. Entrepreneurs who have experienced a decrease in EBITDA of at least 40% between the whole of 2021 and 2022 or between the second half of 2021 and the second half of 2022 will be entitled to the increased aid limit. The increased ceiling will also apply to companies with negative EBITDA in both periods. The amount of support under the increased limit can be up to 80% of the eligible costs, up to €50 million per capital group.

The budget for aid to enterprises is PLN 5 billion.

Use of measure

The government expects more than 1,000 companies to benefit from this support, primarily medium and large companies.

Target groups

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

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies Public support service providers	National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

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

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

Unknown.

Views and reactions

Unknown.

Sources

• 03 January 2023: The government programme "Support for the energy-intensive sectors in connection with the sudden increase in the price of natural gas and electricity in 2022". (www.gov.pl)
• 09 February 2023: Government support for energy intensive businesses - applications open today (www.gov.pl)