Fortum enters the Polish electricity market
Fortum Corporation Press release 16 December 2009
Fortum enters the Polish electricity market Fortum has established trading operations in Warsaw, Poland. The company's first trade on the Polish electricity marketplace poee was done on Wednesday 9 December. By entering the Polish electricity market Fortum prepares for the commission of its new combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Częstochowa, Poland, in 2010. Once completed, the biomass and coal-fired plant will have a capacity of 65 megawatt (MW) of electricity and 120 MW of heat. All electricity produced at Częstochowa-CHP will be sold to the market. "The developing Polish electricity market is very interesting to Fortum and the commission of our new CHP-plant in Częstochowa provides a natural stepping stone to the market. We believe Fortum can leverage the competence it has developed in the Nordic power market also in new market places," says Pirja Heiskanen, Vice President, Trading and Industrial Intelligence at Fortum. Fortum entered the Polish district heating market in 2003 and has developed its heat business in the country by acquiring several heating companies in the past few years. Currently, Fortum owns some 50 heat plants in the country and has district heating networks in over 40 cities and towns. The largest networks are located in Wroclaw, Częstochowa and Plock. In 2008, Fortum's heat sales in Poland were 3.6 TWh. Fortum Corporation Corporate Communications Further information: Izabela Van den Bossche, Head of Communication, Fortum Power and Heat Polska sp. z o.o., tel. +48 22 463 4050