Poland's government said on Monday that it plans to postpone the liberalization of household gas prices until the end of 2027 to help consumers cope with soaring energy costs.
Poland's energy regulator (URE) sets tariffs for retail consumers, while prices for enterprises are not regulated. The country planned to liberalize household gas prices in 2024.
"In order to protect domestic consumers and strategic public institutions in the face of the policy pursued by Russia resulting in an increase in gas prices on European markets, it was considered justified to extend the tariff protection... until December 31, 2027," the government said in a list of planned legislation published on the government's website.
In January Poland introduced a mechanism that protects households and public institutions from surging gas prices until the end of 2023.
"However, the law was adopted before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year. In the current situation, it is clear that in view of the risk of a prolonged crisis, tariff protection is needed until the end of 2027," the government said.
(Reporting by Anna Koper; Editing by Susan Fenton)
