Consent sought for Polish energy buyout
Would-be builder of Poland's first nuclear power plant Polsksa Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has applied for consent from the country's antitrust authority to buy an 84% stake in rival utility Energa SA, seen as a vital step in its nuclear construction plans.
Poland's treasury minister signed an agreement to sell its 84.19% of the shares in Energa SA to PGE in September, after ministers approved an amendment to a resolution on Polish energy policy to 2030 allowing the sale to progress. Now, PGE has filed an application to the country's Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) for its consent for purchase of over 4,183 million Energa shares. PGE is itself 85% state-owned.
PGE is not making the details of its application to UOKiK public "due to the character and importance of the transaction", although PGE management board president Tomasz Zadroga said the company believed its application would be successful.
Poland's government formally wants to have its first nuclear power plant in operation by 2020, although 2022 is now seen as a more likely date. However, according to the Polish treasury ministry, the country's major energy groups are too small to be able to be competitive on the European electricity markets. This in turn will limit their access to sources of finance, leading to reduced investment capacity. The transaction would therefore put PGE, already Poland's largest electricity company, in a much stronger position to fulfil its plans to build two nuclear power plants.
UOKiK can block a consolidation if it would lead to a significant restriction of competition within Poland, unless the deal simultaneously contributes to economic development or technical progress or has a favourable impact on the Polish economy. According to the Treasury Ministry, the proposed sale would fulfil these criteria.
PGE wants to start work on its first nuclear plant in 2016, although a site has yet to be finalised. Three potential sites, Zarnowiec, Kopan and Lubiatowo have been shortlisted by PGE. All three are in northern Poland. Construction work began on a nuclear plant at Zarnowiec in the 1980s but the project was cancelled in 1990. Nevertheless, Zarnowiec is still seen as a promising site for the new plant.
PGE has signed separate non-exclusive agreements with EdF, GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse to investigate the EPR, ABWR and ESBWR, and AP1000 reactor technology, and Poland has signed nuclear cooperation agreements and joint declarations with France, Japan and the USA over the past twelve months.
Researched and written
by World Nuclear News
