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.
June was yet another important month for the Polish energy sector. Data provided to the Energy Market Agency (ARE) by producers and Distribution System Operators show that, for the first time in history, production from renewable energy sources exceeded generation from hard coal and lignite*. Energy from PV installations, wind and hydro power plants and biomass accounted for 45.6% of total production, while that generated in coal-fired power plants amounted to 42.4%. CO2-intensive sources (coal, gas and biomass) still produce the majority of electricity, but for the first time their share in the mix fell below 60%, with over 40% generated by clean sources. Solar energy set another record, producing nearly 2.9 TWh of electricity during the month, reaching over 20% of the generation mix for the first time. Wind sources contributed 2.3 TWh, more than doubling the results from June last year and slightly exceeding the production from lignite-fired power plants.
* – however, data from the Transmission System Operator (PSE) does not confirm this information. We recently wrote about the ambiguities in official data sources on the X portal. There, we compared the shares of individual generation sources in two places, obtained from PSE and ARE. We also performed an exercise assuming no non-market reduction in RES generation (curtailment).
More data is available on the chart “Electricity production, source: ARE”
Hard coal in Poland - June 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 – 3.06 Mt ↗
Both production and sales increased by 3% month-on-month. Compared to June last year, 7% less hard coal was extracted, and sales fell by 8%.
Hard coal reserves
TOTAL – 10.50 Mt ↘
RESERVES AT MINING SITES (mining) – 5.30 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT MINING SITES, PURCHASED (by the power industry) – 0.32 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT POWER PLANTS (power industry) – 4.90 Mt ↘
Total coal reserves are steadily declining. Compared to the previous month, a 4% decrease in total reserves was recorded. Reserves in power plant stockpiles fell below 5 million tonnes, the lowest level since August 2022. However, for several months now, unsold coal has been accumulating next to mines.
Employment
72 546 persons ↘
Employment in mining is gradually declining. Over a month, it fell by more than 100 people and is almost 3 000 jobs lower than in June last year.
Hard coal price for electricity generation (PSCMI1)
PSCMI 1 – 348.32 PLN/t ↘ – 15.95 PLN/GJ ↘
The price of coal for the power sector fell by 2% month-on-month and dropped below 350 PLN/t for the first time since July 2022. The reason for this level of prices remains dumping pricing strategies of some of the producers.
Hard coal price for heating (PSCMI 2)
PSCMI 2 – 461.97 PLN/t ↘ – 19.70 PLN/GJ ↘
The price of coal for heating has continued to fall, decreasing by approximately 1/5 compared to June last year. It follows the same pricing trend as coal for the energy sector.
Price of domestic vs imported hard coal
PSCMI 1 – 15.95 PLN/GJ ↘
Import (ARA) – 18.56 PLN/GJ ↗
The reference price, which reflects the prices of imported coal and serves as a benchmark for mining subsidies, rose by just below 1 PLN per gigajoule in June. At the same time, domestic coal prices are falling. Unless extraction costs have dropped significantly, this means greater losses for mines selling coal at below-market prices. By the end of August, we should have a clearer picture of the cost structure, as well as import and sales prices.
Below, 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 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]
