PSL MP Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski spoke to Polsat News about a draft law proposed by KO and Polska 2050-TD members to freeze energy prices. He said he learned of it only yesterday and does not sit on the Energy Committee this term, which left him without prior knowledge of the measure. He stated that President Andrzej Duda has no reason to veto the bill.
Letter from the President of Orlen to President Duda
On November 28, 2023, a group of KO and Polska 2050-TD deputies submitted a draft Sejm law aimed at freezing electricity, gas, and heat prices for businesses, households, and sensitive groups through the end of June 2024. The plan supposedly maintains proportional consumption limits and protections for vulnerable groups. The financing for the entire operation would come from Orlen. After news of the proposal circulated, Orlen’s stock value dropped by about PLN 5.5 billion.
The company’s president, Daniel Obajtek, pressed President Andrzej Duda for a thorough analysis of the proposals, which the Orlen leadership views as potentially unfavorable.
Its adoption could hinder further growth for the company, the broader Polish economy, and Poland’s energy security.
– emphasized the head of PKN Orlen.
READ ALSO: President Obajtek writes to the president about Tusk’s coalition project. If it becomes law, the company’s operations may not be scalable at current levels.
“The president has no reason to veto the bill.”
When PSL MP Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski was questioned about the draft in an interview with Polsat News, he explained that he was not a member of the Energy Committee during the current Sejm term and therefore did not know the details beforehand.
He said, “I found out yesterday.”
– according to the politician. He added that the wind farm law envisions that rural communities at the municipal level will decide on permitting windmills in their area.
The president has no reason to veto the bill that the Prime Minister appointed recently agreed to, he noted. The MP recalled that Prime Minister Morawiecki and former Climate and Environment Minister Anna Moskwa supported the bill, which proposed allowing wind turbines within 500 meters of homes.
However, he pointed out that 500 meters would only be permissible under certain conditions, while the parliamentary amendment called for 700 meters. KO and Trzecia Droga’s project proposed an even shorter distance ranging from 300 to 700 meters.
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At the same time, Bartoszewski tried to clarify that there is no direct link between the wind farm bill and the fall in Orlen’s share value. The parliamentary majority seeking to form a new government envisions a law imposing a PLN 15 billion tax on the company.
According to the PSL MP, such an intention is lawful because Orlen posted about PLN 50 billion in unexpected profits.
The residents were left out of this narrative, Bartoszewski argued, not because of the leadership genius of President Obajtek but due to the Ukraine war and price manipulation by the Russian Federation, which boosted energy profits manyfold and eroded household finances.
– he said. Bartoszewski also referenced the Russian Influence Committee. After its members resigned, those seeking a new government composition faced indecision over whether to appoint a new panel or dissolve it entirely. The PSL MP supported the first option, he claimed.
“A committee should be established to investigate Russian influence,” he stated. He argued that the commission should be a constitutionally established investigative body and not the current version.
He added that individuals who feel harmed by the committee’s actions could pursue civil lawsuits against dismissed members, though he did not see a path for political action against them.
READ ALSO: The real goal. Prime Minister Morawiecki: The opposition bill raises suspicions that someone is preparing to sell Orlen.
— citation: wPolityce