Poland's state-controlled gas utility PGNİG signed an agreement with Bank Pekao for a loan of up to 4.8 billion zloty (€1 billion) due to persistently high energy prices.
The document shared by Polish Press Agency (PAP) states the government will guarantee the loan.
Russia is the biggest gas exporter to the EU, accounting for around 45% of its gas imports and almost 40% of total gas consumption, data from the International Energy Agency shows.
On April 27, Poland and Bulgaria were the first EU countries cut off from Russian gas due to their refusal to pay for Russian gas imports in rubles.
Similarly, Russian energy giant Gazprom stopped natural gas supplies to Finland on May 20, and in the following days, supplies were cut off to Denmark and the Netherlands.
Russia’s decision comes at a time of some of the highest energy prices recently traded on the continent.
Natural gas prices on the Netherlands-based virtual natural gas trading point (TTF) hit a record high on July 27.
Prices hit as high as €223.85 per megawatt-hour but then subsided to around €197 per megawatt-hour on Friday.
The EU imported 155 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2021 from Russia, including liquefied natural gas (LNG).
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr