The scheme will cover gas purchased from May 1st to the earlier of December 31st 2015 or the date when PGNiG SA is released by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office from the obligation to submit gas tariffs for regulatory clearance.

The scheme is voluntary. The customers who choose not to participate will continue to pay for gas according to the effective PGNiG tariff, while those who opt to enter the scheme will receive a discount on the tariff price. The discount amount will be indexed to prices on the Polish Power Exchange and will depend on the volume and stability of consumption, with the largest discounts granted to customers with stable consumption rates purchasing large volumes of gas. At present, gas prices on the Polish Power Exchange are strongly correlated to gas prices on Western European markets. The discount scheme replicates this formula.

PGNiG SA expects that the 'Price Deregulation' discount scheme will allow participants to reduce their gas purchase costs relative to the tariff prices.

As a condition for joining the scheme, customers have to submit scheme participant declarations and collect at least 80% of the previously ordered gas volumes.

"We are not afraid to compete for the market and, knowing that market deregulation is inevitable, we need to act today. The tariff price is our maximum price, and the Company is proactive in adjusting its product mix ahead of the anticipated market deregulation. Gas prices for scheme participants will be indexed to market prices and capped at the tariff rates," explained Mariusz Zawisza, President of the PGNiG Management Board.

PGNiG expects that the 'Price Deregulation' scheme will attract strong interest from its customers and that market price-linked settlement arrangements will open a new chapter in gas market deregulation in Poland.

Dorota Gajewska

Press Officer