Preparing for the deregulation process, the Company has taken steps designed to form a gas wholesale unit within its structures in order to be able to separate wholesale and retail accounting. PGNiG SA is also actively involved in efforts to launch gas trading through a commodity exchange. At present, the Company is at the negotiating table with TGE and IRGiT, with plans to start commodity-exchange trading as of the fourth quarter of the year. At the early stage of development of the exchange market, a minimum of 0.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas is expected to be sold annually. The volume may subsequently be increased if this form of trading in gas is well received by other market participants and if the regulations concerning mandatory gas stocks are changed.

The Company is of the opinion that the individual segments of the Polish gas market should be deregulated in stages. The necessary success factor is to prevent a price duality, that is a situation where a given customer group is able to purchase gas at either market or regulated rates.

The UOKiK's proposal to adopt a special approach to price-sensitive customers deserves approval. The concept of creating a mechanism of financial support to price-sensitive customers may prove the right solution to the problem of energy poverty in Poland.

Further debates on the process of building a free gas market should recognise that the security of supply is paramount to the market liberalisation effort. The flawed argument that market deregulation will in itself be sufficient to ensure lower gas prices is used all too often in the ongoing debate. In PGNIG's view, it is a diversified supply structure and own production fields that will help keep prices low for all customers.

Joanna Zakrzewska

PGNiG Press Officer