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.
Last month, we posted an update on the platform of the transition scenarios prepared by Instrat, which show, among other things, the pace of replacing coal-fired power in the energy sector. We invite you to visit the website, where new data has been published based on the report published in December, ‘Grids Fit-for-Purpose. Network costs and the economic viability of RES in Poland out to 2040.’Â For more details, please refer to the blog post.
To begin with, let’s take a look at how much electricity was produced from hard coal and other fuels over the course of the month. Supplying a substantial part of the demand is coal’s fundamental, though not the only role.
In November 2025, the total installed capacity in the Polish power system reached 75 GW, primarily driven by continued rapid PV deployment. For comparison, precisely 10 years earlier, the installed capacity of all sources was less than 38 GW, i.e., roughly half as much. Since then, all primary energy sources (except for lignite) have increased their capacity. However, wind and solar power plants are mainly responsible for such a significant increase, adding approximately 30 GW over the decade.
As for energy generation in November, photovoltaic sources experienced the expected seasonal decline. More surprising at this time of year, however, is the poor performance of wind power plants, which produced less than 2 TWh (a decrease of 1 TWh compared to October!), making it one of the least productive Novembers in recent years. For this reason, coal-fired units had a high share (almost 59%), of which nearly 6 TWh (40% of the total share) was produced by hard coal-fired power plants.
Gas-fired power plants, on the other hand, set another record. Their production, which exceeded 2.5 TWh for the first time, contributed to a record share of 17.5%. In total, emission-intensive sources accounted for 83% of the energy produced.
More data is available on the chart Electricity production, source: ARE and Electricity generation capacity, source: ARE.
Hard coal in Poland - November 2025
Production and sales of hard coal​
COAL PRODUCTION – 4.13 Mt ↘
COAL SALES – 3.99 Mt ↘
Hard coal production and sales declined after two months of growth. However, November’s mining output remains the second-highest in 2025. After sharp increases in September and October, sales fell below 4 million tonnes again, a figure similar to that for the same period in the previous two years.
Hard coal reserves
TOTAL – 12.59 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT MINING SITES (mining) – 5.38 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT MINING SITES, PURCHASED (by the power industry) – 0.37 Mt ↗
RESERVES AT POWER PLANTS (power industry) – 6.84 Mt ↗
The stable, several percent increase in coal reserves, which has been ongoing since July, continues. Reserves at both power plants and mining sites rose above October levels. However, year-on-year, total reserves are still down by more than one million tonnes.
Employment in hard coal mining
71 543 persons ↗
For the first time in almost two years, employment in the mining industry has increased. However, this is a symbolic increase (by 24 jobs) and does not herald a reversal of the general trend – in the coming years, the decline in demand for hard coal will lead to a decrease in employment.
Hard coal price for electricity generation (PSCMI1)
PSCMI 1 – 336 PLN/t ↗ 15.28 PLN/GJ ↗
The price of coal for the electricity sector rose by 10% compared to October. This was the highest monthly increase in 2025, but it was mainly due to a rebound from the ‘sell-off’ price a month earlier. Looking at the longer term, the coal price index is still almost 30% lower than in November 2024.
Hard coal price for heating (PSCMI 2)
PSCMI 2 – 422 PLN/t ↘ – 18.45 PLN/GJ ↘
The price of hard coal for heating has fallen once again, reaching its lowest level in 2025. The values are approximately 15% lower than in November 2024.
Price of domestic vs imported hard coal
PSCMI 1 – 15.28 PLN/GJ ↗
Import (ARA) – 15.23 PLN/GJ ↘
For the first time in a year, Polish hard coal was more expensive than imported coal. Raw material arriving from ARA ports fell in price by PLN 0.62 per gigajoule compared to October. It is worth mentioning that its November price was the lowest since 2021. This is the opposite trend to the rising price of the domestic PSCMI 1 index, as described above.
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]
