Tuesday 30 June 2015
"Silesia 2.0", new development program for the Silesia Region and coal mining industry: a real opportunity or political move?
coal
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fuels
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general
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politics
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The development program - "Silesia 2.0, prepared over the course of last few months and signed on June 30,2015 by the government, is a detailed plan for restructuring coal sector in Poland, with a special attention to the social problems that eventual “collapse” of coal mining can cause in the voivodeship of Silesia (where majority of mines are located).
The end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 was a
difficult period for the Polish coal mining industry. As was mentioned in few
notes, few of the biggest coalmines, located in Silesia, had difficulties with
being financially feasible. The situation was so dramatic that those in the
biggest trouble would had to be closed within few months, without strategic
restructuring and significant help from external economic reserves. For Polish
coal sector that would mean sudden wave of high unemployment in the region (where
majority of the inhabitants are miners or the families of the miner), shaken
energetical stability and collapse of one of the most important branches of
national industry.
Over the course of last few months, the
government, together with the representatives of the industry and a number of
specialists in the field of law and economics, was preparing a detailed plan
for restructuring coal sector in Poland, with a special attention to
the social problems that eventual “collapse” of coalmining can cause in the
voivodeship of Silesia.
The program – called “Silesia 2.0” ( in Polish
“Slask 2.0”; pinpointing the most important component of the program being
Silesia) has been signed and, in the same time, entered into force, on the
special government meeting in Katowice. The program is divided into six main
sections dedicated to:
- · increasing the economic competitiveness of the province of Silesia and Western Lesser Poland
- · potential investments in the region,
- · implementation of energy-efficient low-carbon economy,
- · retraining of the workforce ( so that people with more working experience can adjust to the changing job market),
- · integration of functions of the towns of the Upper Silesia
- · legal and time framework of implementation of the plan
In the section dedicated to the increase of the
economic competitiveness of the provinces ( in Poland called voivodeships), there
is a special attention to previously mentioned the mining and energy-intensive
businesses.
The most promising of the components of the
plan is an implementation of the
rehabilitation program of the Kompania
Weglowa* (including the creation of a newly structured holding). In
addition, the government has to act in favor of the steel industry ( to prevent
unfair competition from outside the EU), which will lead to an increase in
steel production and increased coal consumption.
The plan includes the rapid and more intense
development of the infrastructure of the region, to enable easier business
relationships. It does not mean only roads and faster trains, but even
relocation the headquarters of the cargo section of Polish Railways from Warsaw
to Katowice.
The program surely can “speak to the public”
and cause positive feedback of the ruling party, but it is important to
remember that many plans and promises have been done before.
Undoubtedly, there is a need of government’s
involvement in the development and the management of the region and one of the
most strategic branches of Polish industry – coal mining.
What the program does is dealing with the results
of the bad financial situation of coalmines, but, from what the media report (
today, after the official information about the signing of the plan, it was
impossible to find original document online) the essence, the beginning of the
problem have not been yet understood. It is certain that increased road/rail
infrastructure can help faster and more effective business but without
understanding what brought Polish mining industry to this point, it is
impossible to solve the problem.
It has been reported on the numerous times that
the costs of extracting coal from Polish mines is not even comparable to the
costs of coal in the US, Australia or China.
Many of the mines are exploring the parts of the carbon wall where the
raw material is hard to dig out, where the miners need to contribute
significant amount of time “to go down” ( so their actual working time is
shorter) and the areas that are not safe for its workers. Furthermore, the main
problem of the mines is overproduction – over long period of time the costs and
the production of coal have not been aligned, what caused significant stocks of
material that is difficult to be sold. Power plants, who are the biggest client
of the mines, cannot afford coal at this cost and its value is decreasing every
day (making it even more difficult to sell). It is estimated that 1 tonne of Polish coal
costs 100 dollars, while the one imported from the US only 70 – following the
business logic, there is nothing surprising.
What definitely Polish government should
consider is to build a plan of the development for the whole energy sector,
that is “overlapping” and interconnected. The plan that can support different
branches of the same industry with wise system of feed-in tariffs, effectively working
power market and very efficient electricity/heat generation. In such
conditions, it would be easier and more effective to build strong economy, with
partial dependence on coal. It has been observed over the course of few years
that EU law is rather moving toward more renewable, clean energy generation and
Poland should not forget about it. Not to mention that coal is an exhaustible
energy source and the sooner the country finds plan B for alternative energy
source – the better. It has to be done wisely, carefully and with consideration
of social consequences of restructuring energy sector in the most strategic
regions for the industry (Silesia and Lesser Poland).
Does this project meet these needs?
We will be happy to answer this question, once
it will be easier (or possible) to find online…
* Kompania Węglowa is the largest coal mining
company in Poland and Europe, producing around 48 million tonnes of coal every
year, from 23 mines.
Difficult situation of the coalmining industry –
previous notes:
Kompania Weglowa to be restructured:
http://polish-energy-blog.blogspot.it/2015/01/kompania-weglowa-to-go-under.html
Licences for coal-trading:
Restructing of Kazimierz-Juliusz mine:
Based on:
http://wyborcza.biz/biznes/1,100896,16247493,Wszystkie_kanty_na_weglu__czyli_dlaczego_polskie_kopalnie.html
http://www.wprost.pl/ar/512243/Slask-20-Przeczytaj-Program-dla-Slaska/
http://www.wprost.pl/ar/512252/Posiedzenie-Rady-Ministrow-w-Katowicach-Slask-20/
http://wyborcza.biz/biznes/10,102288,14363955,Dlaczego_polskie_elektrownie_wola_wegiel_z_importu_.html
Picture:
http://i.iplsc.com/premier-ewa-kopacz-podczas-wyjazdowego-posiedzenia-rzadu-w-u/0004FJ969640NDT2-C116-F4.jpg
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