Under the agreement, the Fund will gain access to information on whether a given property is connected to a mains gas supply, which will accelerate the verification of applications in the ‘Clean Air’ programme. The parties also plan other joint initiatives, including arrangements whereby applications for switchover subsidies could be accepted at PGNiG customer service points and new gas users be included in the energy efficiency certificates system. The details will be prepared by the end of March this year.

“We are working to expand distribution channels of the government’s ‘Clean Air’ programme. This will implement the World Bank’s recommendations and arrangements with the European Commission, while delivering on the promise made by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who in his inauguration speech in November 2019 stressed the need to step up efforts in furtherance of the programme. Our partnership with PGNiG will help accelerate the review of applications and allow individual Provincial Funds for Environmental Protection to speed up subsidy decisions. A shorter procedure for replacing old heating systems with modern gas-fired boilers will not only bring considerable benefits to those concerned, but will also contribute to an improvement of air quality in Poland,” said Piotr Woźny, Head of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

As part of the partnership agreement, PGNiG will be involved in the verification of gas-grid access of properties whose owners are eligible to receive subsidies under the ‘Clean Air’ programme. Thus, it will support the Provincial Funds for Environmental Protection, which are operationally involved in the programme.

“The cooperation between PGNiG and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management offers an opportunity to accelerate the uptake of the ‘Clean Air’ programme, while promoting the use of natural gas by Polish households. This means both parties stand to gain, but I am positive that the greatest beneficiaries will be Poles themselves, who are awaiting effective action to improve air quality in Poland,” said Jerzy Kwieciński, President of the Management Board of PGNiG SA. “Initiatives like this fit perfectly with the PGNiG Group’s strategy to consistently promote natural gas as an environmentally friendly and affordable fuel for households, businesses and the transport sector. Our partnership with the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management is yet another step towards our goals.”

The parties also expressed willingness to expand their cooperation in the programme by engaging PGNiG’s sales network in serving those applying for subsidies to switch over to gas heating systems.

“As agreed with Mr Piotr Woźny, by March 31st 2020 we will develop a detailed concept of how to further expand the scope of our cooperation. In addition to getting the PGNiG network involved in the ‘Clean Air’ programme, we would also very much like our joint initiatives to cover inclusion of new gas users into the energy efficiency certificates system,” said Henryk Mucha, President of the Management Board of PGNiG Obrót Detaliczny.

The partnership agreement was signed by Jerzy Kwieciński, President of the Management Board of PGNiG SA, Piotr Woźny, President of the Management Board of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, Representative of the Prime Minister for the ‘Clean Air’ programme and Henryk Mucha, President of the Management Board of PGNiG Obrót Detaliczny.

The agreement signed today marks another pro-environmental initiative embarked on by PGNiG. The Group companies are committed to getting involved in various steps to combat smog. For example in 2017, PGNiG launched an educational campaign for children called ‘Parents and Children, Air Free from Pollution’. Another initiative was ‘Subsidy of up to PLN 3,000’, a programme for replacing old heating units with eco-friendly, gas-fired ones, which has covered over 12,000 households with the aggregate amount of subsidies awarded in excess of PLN 16m. There is also the ‘Switch to Gas’ programme, implemented for the past three years in partnership with local governments – those interested in switching over to gas-fired boilers receive a free cost estimate and advice on replacing their heating systems, including assistance in handling the required formalities (over 70 municipalities participate in the project, mainly from the south of Poland, where smog pollution is especially severe).

 In 2019 PGNiG entered the RES area, having launched the ‘Photovoltaics for Business’ partnership programme, which consists in end-to-end delivery of projects from technology selection to connection of a solar system to the distribution network.