Integrated report 2020
- PGE’s vision
- Sustainable transformation
- PGE in 2020
- About the report
- Interactive data
Integrated report 2020
We are one of the largest employers in Poland. We provide stable employment to more than 40 000 people across around 200 locations throughout the country. Most of our personnel are residents of towns in the vicinity of our assets. Taxes that we pay to the municipalities in which we do business often account for a significant part of their local budgets.
Many activities for local communities originate at the initiative of PGE Group companies. PGE is a local patron of sports and culture. PGE Group companies engage in educational and charitable activities.
A large part of our subcontractors are local firms that, by working with us, have an opportunity to develop their business. Our investments constitute a very substantial element of economic development and their implementation helps to improve the quality of life and work for local communities.
Our Baltic Sea offshore energy investment that we are currently working on is an opportunity for many Polish businesses to spread their wings; many of them specialise in the manufacture of components for wind farms and devices accompanying such undertakings. Close to 500 firms, including more than 400 Polish businesses, participated in information workshops for potential suppliers of products and services for the development of offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea.
We are one of the largest domestic investors. Since the foundation of PGE Group 14 years ago, our capital expenditures have exceeded PLN 80 billion.
These funds were spent on the construction of new generating capacities, eco-friendly modernisations of existing assets and expansion of power and district heating networks. This is a very large amount, which could have financed, for example, more than 2 000 km of highways in Poland.
In 2020, despite restricted operational capabilities due to Covid-19, we invested PLN 5.5 billion. Our investments provide an impetus for the Polish economy – these are not just orders that mostly go to Polish businesses but also thousands of jobs at construction sites and subsequently in operating these new units. Thanks to the electricity that we supply and our investments in distribution grids, companies can develop their business and search for new opportunities. In places where we operate we are often the largest or one of the largest employers and our investments constitute additional support for the development of local markets.
According to an analysis carried out by Business Insider Polska, PGE Group was the largest payer of taxes in Poland in 2020. At state and local level, our business in 2020 brought in approx. PLN 7.3 billion* in tax (approx. PLN 6.2 billion in 2019)*. This amount mainly includes: VAT, taxes and contributions on the remuneration of the Group’s employees, real estate tax, corporate income tax, excise tax and other taxes and fees.
For years, PGE Group has been one of the largest payers of various types of taxes and fees in Poland. Multi-billion-zloty amounts annually contribute to the state budget, giving a growth impulse for the Polish economy, while the taxes that we pay to the municipalities in which we operate constitute a very important part of the budgets of local governments and contribute to the development of local communities. Economic patriotism and corporate social responsibility are very important to PGE Group. We are one of the largest employers in the country, we provide energy security and we support the state budget. The fact that our business strengthens the Polish economy is very important to us.
As a result of our activities, local governments (municipality, county and district budgets) received close to PLN 1.6 billion in 2020. In the municipality of Kleszczów, which is where the largest lignite-fired power plant in Europe and lignite mine are located, approx. 50% of all expenses incurred by the local government are financed with taxes paid by PGE Group.
| 2020 | |
|---|---|
| Municipal budgets | 1,301 |
| County budgets | 59 |
| Voivodship budgets | 297 |
| State Treasury | 4,269 |
| Social Security | 1,384 |
| Sum total | 7,311 |
Costs related to CO2 emissions under EU ETS reached approx. PLN 6.2 billion in 2020. EU ETS is a key element of the EU policy on combating climate change and a key tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Proceeds from the sale of emission allowances do not solely go to state budgets but also finance climate protection and energy transition.
In light of the challenges that the market and regulatory environment poses for the energy sector, I would like to mention the exceptionally important issue of transition for the Bełchatów and Turów regions, as noted in our strategy. It is a priority for us that profound changes in the energy sector do not pose a threat but rather create an opportunity for the regions subject to transition to develop new specialisations and fully re-create the job potential. To this end, PGE’s Management Board has launched the „Bełchatów complex just transition” project, the first stage of which envisages projects worth nearly PLN 5 billion. A similar plan is being prepared for Turów.
PGE is a partner to local communities, listens to their needs and takes them into account in its plans related to sustainable transition. Sustainable transition requires comprehensive changes in both company operations and its surroundings. The societal aspect is one of its key dimensions. PGE Group’s responsibility in this respect entails optimal preparation of its employees, customers, business partners and local communities for its assumptions.
The change directions being introduced are beneficial for each of the parties, taking into account especially significant aspects for the natural environment, resource management and future generations. PGE Group makes sure that energy-sector firms and employees as well as the residents of coal regions are part of the entire transition process and actively participate in it.
PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna and subsidiaries providing support services to the power plant and mine are the largest employers in the Bełchatów region, with a total workforce of more than a dozen thousand people. Climate targets, which are inherently related to the decarbonisation of energy generation, will have a tremendous impact on the life of residents in this area.
The just transition concept entails the transformation of the Bełchatów region, where local economy is based on conventional energy, into a hub of zero- and low-carbon energy production. This way, the region will remain a vital spot on the energy map of Poland. Aid funds will be secured in order to fully responsibly carry out the multi-dimensional process of transition because the scale of these projects exceeds the financial capabilities of Polish companies.
The aim of just transition is to carry out changes in a way that takes into account new job creation for coal-industry employees, while taking account of and respecting the interests of local communities and administration, natural environment, investors and businesses in this process. PGE strives to make sure that just transition is conducted in accordance with best change management practices that emphasise coordination, long-term planning and multi-dimensional collaboration between social and business partners, local authorities and the state government.
PGE Group has prepared a concept for the transition which lays out a comprehensive plan for investment projects along with their justification and time-frames. In the case of the Bełchatów region, the plan presents specific investment projects for 2021-2043, which will result in the creation of around 15 000 new jobs in modern sectors of the economy. PGE Group plans to invest nearly 5 billion at the Bełchatów complex already by 2030. Implementing this ambitious plan depends on the involvement of numerous entities, also at the national level, as it exceeds PGE Group’s capabilities.
These are projects such as:
Currently a working team for the Turów complex transition program is working at PGE on a consistent and complete concept for the transition of the Turów mine and power plant. Projects that may be implemented and are being considered include the following investments:
Aside from the work being done by the Turów transition team, PGE GiEK has jump started the activities of the South-Western Energy Cluster, which is located in the Zgorzelec poviat. This is an element of preparations for the energy transition of the region. The Cluster will work on the region’s transition program and will include the process of re-skilling and educating employees from the Turów complex into new branches of the economy.