It will be a relief for the industry. The Council of Ministers decided to help

The government has adopted a resolution on the program “Aid for energy-intensive industries related to natural gas and electricity prices in 2023”, based on which funds will be paid to energy-intensive industries, according to information from the Ministry of Development and Technology. The start of the call for applications is planned for August this year.

Support for the energy-intensive industry

“In August, recruitment for the next round of government support for energy-intensive industries is planned to start. This time, companies from the entire mining and industrial processing sector will be able to apply for assistance. There is as much as PLN 5.5 billion in the pool. About 3,000 people are eligible to participate in the programme. companies” – we read in the message.

Assistance to companies is to be provided by the Minister of Development and Technology, and the program operator will be the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

The planned start of the call for proposals is August 2023, after receiving notification from the European Commission. Entrepreneurs will have 14 days (from the date of announcement of the recruitment) to submit applications. Applications will be signed with a qualified signature.

Aid for energy-intensive industries. How to apply?

Applications for aid will be submitted electronically on the NFOŚiGW website. Funds will be disbursed within two months of the commencement of the recruitment process. The budget of the program is PLN 5.5 billion. Last year, thanks to the program for 2022, 195 companies received financial assistance for a total amount of PLN 2,321 million.

Program “Aid for energy-intensive industries related to natural gas and electricity prices in 2023”. was developed on the basis of the Act of 29 September 2022 on the rules for the implementation of support programs for entrepreneurs in connection with the situation on the energy market in 2022-2024.

Two types of help

Entrepreneurs will be able to apply for basic or increased aid.

Basic aid will be available to every energy-intensive entrepreneur operating in the industrial sector, and increased aid will be available to companies that operate in sectors particularly exposed to loss of competitiveness. It will be paid in two rounds – for the first and second half of 2023 in the form of a refund, and the increased aid in the form of an advance payment for the entire year 2023.

All energy-intensive companies, which predominantly operate in section B or C of the NACE, will be eligible for the aid. Energy-intensive companies will be those whose electricity and natural gas costs in 2021 amounted to no less than 3 percent. value of sold production.

The amount of basic aid is 50 percent. eligible costs up to EUR 4 million, calculated jointly for all related enterprises registered in Poland.

The increased aid will be available to companies that meet the following additional conditions:

• operating predominantly in sectors identified by the European Commission as particularly vulnerable to loss of competitiveness.

• recording a negative EBITDA financial result in 2023 or a decrease in this ratio by 40% compared to 2021.

• presentation by the end of Q1 2024 by the applicant of a plan to increase energy efficiency, the implementation costs of which will amount to at least 30% of the received aid.