WARSAW, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Poland needs less than a year to prepare a model to spin off coal assets from state-controlled utilities as it is analysing the lifespans of dozens of power units that meet most of the country's electricity demand, the state assets minister said.

Poland's government has yet to announce an alternative after a plan was scrapped last year to spin off coal-fired power plants from state-controlled utilities to increase the focus on green energy, and as banks seek to avoid financing coal-dependent companies.

Jakub Jaworowski in an interview with a small group of journalists said the coal-asset spin-off was still a priority but more time is needed to determine when the ageing coal-fired power units could be decommissioned, while also taking into account the financial and social impact.

"Of course something has to happen in the next 12 months, that's definitely the horizon," Jaworowski said, adding that he could not yet say what the outcome of the analysis might be.

"But it's definitely less than a year for something to become clear."

The state assets ministry is considering a "middle ground" solution and is analysing the future of each power unit rather than considering the spin-off of entire power generation subsidiaries that consist of several plants, he said.

Under the former administration's plan, the subsidiaries of PGE, Tauron and Enea that operate coal-fired power plants were to be bundled into a new state-owned company NABE that would pay their debts.

"NABE was a somewhat nuclear option," Jaworowski said, adding there were several less extreme alternatives, rather than the previous, all or nothing solution.

PGE and Tauron have been urging the government to come up with a rapid plan for their coal-fired power plants as their profitability is declining.

Fitch Ratings said in March that Polish utilities risked credit downgrades unless the government delivered an alternative to the previous administration's solution.

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https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/poland-needs-less-than-year-shape-coal-asset-spin-off-minister-says-2024-09-03/