Poland has sufficient coal supply, says premier

WARSAW

Poland's coal supply is enough to meet the country's needs, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday.

Speaking in the port city of Gdansk, Morawiecki vowed that the government would help households get the coal they need, adding that more than 2,000 municipalities had signed deals with coal importers to distribute to households.

Noting that coal prices had fallen from 3,000 Polish zlotys ($676) to 2,000 zlotys per ton, he said this roughly corresponds to the price levels "before the increase in inflation" this year.

Morawiecki said the EU's embargo on Russian coal had pushed Poland to seek new sources and that the country had increased imports from existing sources.

Noting that the government had provided a one-time allowance of 3,000 zlotys to families that heat their homes with coal, he said that through ports such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as well as others in Germany, his government was using "all means" to import coal from across the world.

Last month, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed a bill limiting the price of coal sold in the country to help residents from rising energy costs.

According to the law, households can purchase coal from local governments for no more than 2,000 zlotys per ton.