Poland’s Energa sees savings if requirement to support renewables dropped

WARSAW, Sept 11 – Polish utility Energa said on Monday it estimated it would save about 110 million zlotys ($31.20 million) next year if it no longer had to buy so-called “green certificates” used to support renewable energy generation in Poland.
Polish utilities, which mostly generate electricity from coal, have been required to buy tradeable certificates from suppliers which generate power from renewables. This helps the utilities meet their own renewable power output targets.
The ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) has criticised the system and introduced regulations that curb subsidies for renewable power producers and reduce costs related to reaching green energy targets for state-run utilities.
Energa said it planned to start legal cases to prove that agreements it had already signed to buy “green certificates” were non-binding.
It said it would save about 110 million zlotys in 2018 if it no longer had to buy the green certificates. The firm said it expected savings of 2.1 billion zlotys in the coming years, without giving a precise timeframe.
Energa said its assumptions on savings were based on annual electricity retail sales at 19 terrawatt hour (TWh) and a substitution fee of 43 zlotys per megawatt hour.
The substitution fee is a payment utilities could pay in lieu buying green certificates, with the amount paid calculated on a utilities’ output. ($1 = 3.5261 zlotys)

Source: Reuters