3 billion euros State aid for Polish companies operating in the gas market
The Polish gas market will be supported by a national scheme of 3 billion euros, approved under the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework adopted by the European Commission on 23 March 2022 and amended on 28 October 2022 with an emergency regulation to afford the high energy prices.
The State aid measure has been launched in the context of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine that has caused the decision of banning all the imports of oil, gas, and coal from Moscow.
"Poland will ensure that sufficient liquidity remains available to companies active in the Polish gas market, which need support in this difficult context", said the Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy, Margrethe Vestager.
Which kind of entities can benefit from the measure?
The following kind of enterprises can benefit from the scheme:
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
- Large companies (specific sellers of last resort and entities legally obliged to sell natural gas on the gas exchange market).
Credit institutions or other financial institutions are excluded from the aid.
State aid rules
The financial help will be granted by the Polish national promotional bank (BGK) in the form of subsidised loans.
The individual aid amount per beneficiary will be equal to either:
- 15% of average total annual turnover over the last three closed accounting periods;
- 50% of the energy costs incurred over a one-year period preceding the application for aid.
Exceptionally, when the beneficiaries can properly justify that they operate in sectors that are particularly affected by direct or indirect effects of the current crisis, such as the gas market in this case, the amount of the loan may be increased by:
- a 12-month period for large enterprises that need to provide financial collaterals for trading activities on energy markets, to cover liquidity needs derived from these activities;
- and by a 6-month period for both SMEs and large companies to cover general liquidity needs.
The Temporary Crisis Framework provides for the following types of aid, which can be granted by Member States: limited amounts of aid for companies, liquidity support in form of state guarantees, aid to compensate for high energy prices, measures to accelerate the shift to renewable energy, measures aimed at supporting electricity demand reduction and decarbonization of industrial processes.