In the second half of each month, we publish a set of key statistics on coal mining in Poland on our blog. The data is published with a 1.5-month delay, following announcements by the Energy Market Agency and the Industrial Development Agency, Katowice Branch.
To begin with, let’s take a look at how much electricity was produced from hard coal and other fuels over the month. Supplying a substantial part of the demand is coal’s fundamental, though not the only role.
In August, Poland saw a decline in domestic electricity production, with 0.7 TWh less generated than in July. Lower demand and weather affected the production from conventional power plants, especially lignite-fired units, resulting in a decrease in their output by almost 0.5 TWh. A significant share of electricity came from renewable energy sources, which, after a slightly less favourable July, achieved the third highest share in history (following May and June this year). PV installations recorded their second-highest share in history, and biomass power plants rebounded strongly after declines in June and July.
More data is available on the chart “Electricity production, source: ARE”
Hard coal in Poland - August 2025
Below, we analyse the monthly data from the hard coal sector. The comments refer to the charts constantly available on energy.instrat.pl in the Mining section.
Symbols mean:
↗ a rise
↘ a decrease
= marginal or no difference in comparison to the previous month
Production and sales of hard coal​
COAL PRODUCTION – 3.09 Mt ↘
COAL SALES – 3.19 Mt ↗
After an increase in July, hard coal production returned to levels seen in Spring. Compared to August last year, 10% less coal was extracted. Sales increased slightly, but are 9% lower year on year.
Hard coal reserves
TOTAL – 11.85 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT MINING SITES (mining) – 5.53 Mt ↘
RESERVES AT MINING SITES, PURCHASED (by the power industry) – 0.32 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT POWER PLANTS (power industry) – 6.0 Mt ↗
Hard coal reserves rose again, this time by 4% on a monthly basis. Those stored at power plants have increased for the second month in a row due to preparations for the heating season. Stocks at mines fell for the first month since February. Compared to August last year, total reserves are 10% lower, but they still more than cover domestic needs.
Employment
71 816 persons ↘
The number of FTEs decreased by nearly 200 during the month. Compared to August last year, it fell by over 3 000.
Hard coal price for electricity generation (PSCMI1)
PSCMI 1 – 327 PLN/t ↘ – 15.11 PLN/GJ ↘
The price of coal for the electricity sector continues its downward trend, decreasing by 3% from the previous month and 32% compared to August last year, reaching its lowest level since April 2022.
Hard coal price for heating (PSCMI 2)
PSCMI 2 – 445 PLN/t ↗ – 19.38 PLN/GJ ↗
The price of coal for heating has increased by 3%, but is still around 20% lower than last year.
Price of domestic (PSCMI 1) vs imported (ARA) hard coal
PSCMI 1 – 15.11 PLN/GJ ↘
Import (ARA) – 17.31 PLN/GJ ↗
After a decline last month, the reference price (representing import prices) rose by 8%. The price of domestic coal for the electricity sector (PSCMI 1) remains lower, even though there is no justification for this in terms of production costs. The difference between the domestic and imported hard coal prices in the August data increased slightly.
We compare the prices of energy coal (PSCMI 1) with imported energy coal in a unit that takes into account quality differences [PLN/GJ]. Coal for heating (PSCMI 2) is filtered out by default.
More data is available in the section “Coal prices and production costs (PL vs import)”
That is all in the current issue. We thank you for reading our Coal Brief and invite you to share it.
More information
If you are looking for more information about mining, check out our recently updated database: Coal mines in Poland. It contains, among others, a complete list of active deposits, annual statistics of mines and the current closure dates. We invite you to take a look at it!Â
Contact
Wojciech Przedlacki, Product Owner energy.instrat.pl, [email protected]
