Before Christmas, Poland received its largest EU payment to date—just over PLN 40 billion from the National Reconstruction Plan (KPO). According to EU objectives, more than 44% of these funds will be allocated to the energy transition, including the thermal modernization of homes and apartments as well as the replacement of heating sources. Since the beginning of this year, PLN 3.75 billion from the KPO has been allocated to finance the Clean Air program.
“Energy transformation is one of our priorities. Close to EUR 60 billion from the National Reconstruction Plan and EUR 76 billion from cohesion policy are available for Poland, entrepreneurs, and residents affected by housing problems,” said Dr. Konrad Wojnarowski, Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy, in an interview with Newseria.
In mid-September, Poland submitted the second and third payment requests from the KPO to the European Commission. According to the announcements by the Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, the funds from both requests—EUR 9.4 billion, or just over PLN 40 billion—arrived on December 17. This is the largest EU payment ever made to Poland in a single transfer. The funds from this payment will primarily be allocated to energy transformation, including investments in Polish offshore wind farms in the Baltic and the modernization of energy networks.
Before the end of this year, Poland also plans to submit the fourth and fifth payment requests from the KPO to the European Commission. In total, under the National Reconstruction Plan, Poland will receive EUR 59.8 billion, or nearly PLN 270 billion (including PLN 108.6 billion in grants and PLN 148.5 billion in preferential loans). According to EU objectives, a significant portion of this budget will be dedicated to energy transformation. The Ministry of Climate and Environment has announced that this will amount to over PLN 100 billion. In addition to financing new domestic renewable energy sources, the modernization of electrical networks, and energy storage systems, some of the funds will also be directed towards the thermal modernization and improvement of energy efficiency in homes and apartments.
“This is currently EUR 150 million, but in the next revision, we want to strengthen this component and show that housing construction is not just a problem for Poland, but also a strategic challenge for the entire European Union,” Dr. Konrad Wojnarowski said.
The report “Rent Gap in Poland from 2010-2022,” prepared by Polityka Insight and PFR Nieruchomości, shows that around 35% of households in Poland are in the rent gap, meaning their income is too low to buy or rent a home at market rates, but too high to qualify for a state or municipal apartment. Meanwhile, the “Healthy Homes Barometer” report indicates that around 70% of buildings in Poland are still energy-inefficient, with around 15% being in the worst condition. Additionally, about 1.5 million households are affected by energy poverty. Experts emphasize that, in this context, comprehensive thermal modernization is necessary not only for environmental reasons but also for social and economic reasons.
However, the issue is that the deadline for spending the funds from the KPO is set for 2026. The government, however, intends to negotiate with the European Commission to extend this deadline.
“Our presidency in the Council of the European Union will be the moment when we will discuss not only the future cohesion policy for the 2027-2034 period but also the technical issues related to the National Reconstruction Plan. We will need to use the grant part by mid-2026, but we already know that the loan part will be able to be spent for a longer period. We have good discussions ahead, and we will do everything to ensure that beneficiaries can use all the European funds,” said the Deputy Minister of Funds and Regional Policy.
Despite a two-year delay in the disbursement of funds from the KPO, investments from this program have significantly accelerated in 2024. By December 17, the government had launched calls for over 93.4% of the available funds (93.9% in the grant portion and 93% in the loan portion). These involve 50 investments, with over 630,000 contracts signed for over PLN 41.8 billion, accounting for 15.9% of the KPO funds. Since the beginning of the year, the largest payments from the program have been directed towards renovations, insulation, and the installation of new heating sources for homes and apartments (the Clean Air program)—nearly PLN 3.75 billion.
“We also need to consider other instruments, such as the Just Transition Fund, which addresses the challenges and costs that the state must bear. Investing these funds in the coming years will not only ensure energy security and resilience, but most importantly, households will be able to pay lower electricity bills in the years to come,” Dr. Konrad Wojnarowski said. “We do not anticipate a scenario where citizens will directly bear the costs of the transition; we will do everything to show how important the energy problem is in Poland and throughout Central and Eastern Europe, where, due to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, we have faced many challenges. In the coming years, we will aim to invest as much as possible in energy security, using not only national but also European funds.”
