When Vattenfall started its investment projects in Poland, it hoped to acquire Polish firms. However, privatization was replaced by consolidation.
“It turned out that you need to be very patient to develop in Poland. We’re trying to be patient”, Tuomo Hatakka, Vattenfall Poland CEO said.
Vattenfall, similarly to German RWE and Czech CEZ hopes to buy PAK, the group of power stations. The state is trying to regain power over PAK and negotiates with Elektrim and its main shareholder Zygmunt Solorz-Zak. The chances that foreign investors will acquire the company are small.
Even if the Swedes fail to buy PAK, they are still going to invest in Poland. They could buy minority stakes of energy groups which the government plans to list on the Warsaw Stock Exchange although this is not the preferred way.
“We are still interested in acquisitions but this is not the only way to grow. We are also interested in greenfield investment projects. In order to meet growing demand in Poland, 20,000-25,000 MW of new capacity need to be built within 15-20 years. Our minimum plan amounts to 1,500-2,000 MW. We must first find out where they will be needed and find a suitable place. We are in the middle of this process”, Tuomo Hatakka assured.
The first big project should be concluded within 6-7 years. The Warsaw heat and power plant owned by Vattenfall will have a new block with 500 MW of capacity.