Polish Tariff Rises No Boon for PGNiG

PGNiG has said that an approved rise in tariffs from the Polish energy regulator still falls short of the prices charged to other European customers.

A tariff application, which PGNiG submitted to the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) in October of last year, has been approved and will take effect from 31 March 2012.

PGNiG has said that the increase allowed by the regulator will cover "its ambitious investment programme", which includes the exploration for shale gas in the future. Should it be successful in this exploration in future, it said, it would be able to reduce the cost of gas to customers again.

The company said that the price of gas to domestic customers remains one of the lowest in Europe, significantly lower than many.

"The changes introduced in the new tariff are as low as possible," a statement from the company said.

"The comparison of gas prices for households in Europe, including countries such as Germany, Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, shows that, following the tariff change, final charges imposed on customers in Poland will remain the lowest in Europe, still lagging by several dozen per cent behind the prices in other European countries."

PGNiG currently makes a loss on Russian imports of gas as it sells below cost to its customers. The rise in tariffs would allow it to reduce that loss.