Two towers in Ostrołęka. Enya wants to hold the company's previous management accountable, including the PiS MP

The former ruling team's dream about Poland's last major coal project – Unit C of the Ostrołęka power plant – is ending before our eyes;
The energy company Enea, which was once a co-investor in this project, wants to sue the previous authorities for more than PLN 656 million for damages caused when the decision was made to participate in the project, which was expected to be a commercial failure from the beginning. beginning;
The investment in Ostrołęka was not completed due to the inability to obtain financing from the market; More than 1 billion zlotys were spent before the demolition of the already built towers, known as the “Two Towers,” began.

On the evening of December 28, Enea announced that it would hold an extraordinary general assembly on January 30. The stock exchange report, along with draft resolutions submitted to the General Assembly, shows the following: Shareholders will vote to approve the company pursuing claims for damages caused in the exercise of management or supervision against members of the Board of Directors and the Supervisory Board of Enea SA. This damage is the decisions made by these authorities in 2018-2019 regarding the construction of the coal block in Ostrołęka. As part of the lawsuit, Enea is seeking claims for a total amount of PLN 656 million 165 thousand. Polish zloty 462.

Ostrolica's hard coal-fired Unit C was supposed to be the last investment of its kind in Poland. By the end of the second decade of the twenty-first century, it has become increasingly clear that we need to shift our energy mix away from fossil fuels. It was getting more and more expensive to stick with coal because of the rising prices of carbon dioxide emission allowancesFinancing institutions began to look negatively at loan applications for energy projects based on black fuel.

However, the Law and Justice government decided to unfreeze the project that was born in theory in 2009. This was largely the result of the determination of Krzysztof Chorzewski, Minister of Energy in 2015-2019 in the governments of Beata Szydlo and Mateusz Morawiecki. The project was undertaken jointly by Enea and Energa (currently part of Orlen) – it was originally an Energa project in which Enea bought half the shares in 2016. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in 2018. The construction tender was won by the consortium of GE Power and Alstom, which was scheduled to complete the task for a little over PLN 6 billion.

but now In the spring of 2020, the project was suspended. Fears of difficulties in obtaining funds from the market and the failure of investors to finance the project were realised. At the end of 2020, Enea withdrew from equity participation in the project.

Finally, in March 2021, the demolition of the constructed elements began, primarily two 138-metre-high concrete towers, jokingly called “The Twin Towers”. In June of the same year, news broke that the company Energa – then owned by Orlin – wanted to build in this place Power plant Gas. He said at the time: “We have the right to withdraw from investments whose profitability is at risk and continue with other beneficial investments.” Daniel Obajtek, President of OrlinUnder the pretext that continuing to build “Coal” Ostrołęka will bring greater losses than stopping the project.

According to the addendum that Orlin signed with GE Energy, Instead of a 1,000 MW hard coal-fired unit, it was decided to build one Austrolica Steam and gas unit with a capacity of 745 MW. The cost of this new investment was estimated at approximately PLN 2.5 billion. The work previously carried out on building the coal block has been completed in the meantime It cost more than a billion Polish zlotys before demolition began.

Enea's claim for damages arising from faulty investment decisions was brought against the previous management of the company – including, among others, Then-president Miroslaw KowalikAnd Paul Jablonskiformer Deputy Foreign Minister, who was a member of the Supervisory Board of the Enea Party in 2018, and today is a Member of Parliament for the Law and Justice Party. The insurance company is also said to be the defendant – PZUW Mutual Insurance Company.

The company also indicated that “following up on the above-mentioned claims is implementing the recommendation of the Financial Supervision Bureau contained in the subsequent statement of the Financial Supervision Bureau issued on June 29, 2021.” substantially, The Supreme Audit Office examined the investment in Ostrolica and, after conducting verification procedures, found that the decision to start construction, made in the absence of project financing, was simply uneconomical.

If the shareholders decide at the general meeting to take legal action, Ennis It is likely to argue that the company's management and supervision did not exercise due diligence in managing the company's affairs, Going into an investment that was doomed from the start.