Dialogue with stakeholders

PGE makes every effort to ensure that the energy transition is fair and transparent and is carried out in accordance with arrangements made in the dialogue process.

The dialogue takes place in various forms, depending on the type and communication needs of a given stakeholder, but there are also solutions such as regular dialogue sessions that create space for representatives of all key stakeholder groups to exchange their opinions and raise their expectations of the company in a common setting.

PGE Group’s key stakeholders are: central and local government, regulators and market supervision, shareholders, investors, customers, employees, banks and financing institutions, insurers, suppliers and subcontractors, industry, pro-social and environmental organisations, the media, ESG analysts, academia, local communities and competitors.

As an organisation with a large scale and impact on its surroundings, PGE Group is a natural partner for dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders. In order to develop in a sustainable manner, it is important for PGE to study and take into account their needs. It is committed to building relationships based on partnership.

The expectations of key stakeholders towards PGE Group are communicated during cyclical meetings. The last stakeholder panel was held on June 13 and 14, 2022 in an online format. Around 80 people shared their opinions on the company’s activities, including:

Dialogue sessions are conducted according to the AA 1000 corporate social responsibility standard, with the participation of independent external moderators. The meetings are primarily aimed at gathering information on what are the expectations of key stakeholders towards PGE Group, including in the area of ESG, and gathering opinions on which of the activities undertaken by PGE Group are the most valuable and which should be additionally initiated.

The outcome of the dialogue sessions is also a list of the most important topics and issues identified by stakeholders that should be described in the non-financial report for the year. More information on the results of the 2022 sessions is available in the chapter „About the report„.

The benefits of participating in PGE Group stakeholder panel are for both parties.

The basis for the sustainable, balanced development of PGE Group is the maintenance of on-going partnership relations with institutions supervising the functioning of the markets in which the organisation operates. PGE cares for a constructive and transparent dialogue with independent market regulators and supervisors.

PGE Group operates in an extremely complex and changing regulatory environment. On-going monitoring of legislative processes and active participation in the dialogue with circles responsible for lawmaking, both in Poland and in the European Union, is a necessary element for conducting effective business activity and meeting the expectations of PGE Group’s stakeholders. This activity directly translates into building the Group’s value.

PGE strives to raise public awareness of the problems and challenges of the electricity sector. It is a natural partner for discussions with legislators, central and local administrations. PGE’s experts analyse the consequences of regulatory and political decisions in the energy area. PGE Group shares its observations and analyses within existing frameworks for dialogue with the administration and lawmakers. PGE also takes an active part in the work of institutions trying to draw attention to issues important to the company and the entire energy industry.

PGE is a member of a number of energy industry organisations and also presents its opinions through them. This ensures that positions are balanced and take into account the viewpoints of all organisation members.

The issue of PGE Group companies’ membership in industry organisations is regulated by the „Good practices in cooperation with national and international industry organisations”, which are annexed to the internal General Procedure for Regulatory Management. Industry organisations are recognised as organisations, associations or chambers of commerce which have the energy sector in their scope of activity.

As the largest energy company in Poland, PGE is aware of the importance of decisions concerning the future of energy which are taken at the European level.

PGE Group is present on the international forum and actively participates in institutional dialogue which supports the idea of mutual understanding. Constructive exchange of arguments and views leads to compromise. A significant amount of activity is carried out through PGE SA’s Office in Brussels and through PGE’s membership in the Polish Electricity Committee (PKEE), which brings together representatives of the industry in Poland.

The President of the Management Board of PGE SA, Wojciech Dąbrowski, is also the President of the PKEE Management Board. Moreover, through the PKEE, PGE actively participates in the works of the international organisation EURELECTRIC, representing the interests of the power sector at the European level. In February 2023, the PKEE Management Board adopted a resolution appointing Wanda Buk, Vice President of the Management Board of PGE SA for Regulatory Affairs, as the PKEE representative on the EURELECTRIC Board of Directors.

The growing need for direct dialogue with the European community led PGE SA to open its own office in Brussels in April 2019, remaining a member of the PKEE. The main role of the PGE SA Office in Brussels is to increase PGE Group’s activity in matters related to implemented and planned EU energy and climate regulations.

At the same time, the Office supports the implementation of the company’s strategic goals and objectives, which ensure the long-term growth of PGE Group’s value in the face of changing political and economic conditions in the EU electricity market.

In 2022, PGE SA conducted multi-channel communication with capital market participants – through the website and a dedicated Investor Relations tab, email correspondence to investors following significant events in PGE Group, meetings with analysts and investors.

After the pandemic, the company gradually returned to participating in stationary investor conferences both in Poland, Europe and the United States. In May 2022, PGE SA participated for the first time in the WallStreet conference organised by the Association of Individual Investors, taking part in the debate 'National champions in the face of price shocks and major economic turbulence. Will they come out stronger or weaker?” and presenting PGE Group during the „Shareholder Forum”.

The WallStreet conference was also an opportunity to talk to individual investors, exchange experiences in the area of investor relations and ESG with other listed companies, stock market educators, as well as financial journalists. Each time before the publication of an interim report, PGE SA published earnings estimates, together with information on one-off events.

In addition, a presentation detailing the estimated results and key factors influencing the year-on-year change in results was published on the website. Following the publication of interim results, the company held four Management Board conferences for journalists and analysts to discuss the operating and financial results for the period and the company’s growth prospects.

The conferences were also broadcast live on the Internet, with the transcript of the broadcast subsequently posted on the corporate website. An opportunity was provided each time for participants to ask questions.

With a view to transparency in the implementation of the idea of sustainable development and the presentation of the company’s impact on its environment, PGE Group’s Integrated Report has been published online. The report for 2021 is available at https://raportzintegrowany2021.gkpge.pl/en/

In the area of dialogue with external stakeholders, PGE Group companies organise meetings with representatives of local authorities and conduct social consultations accompanying investments. They also hold meetings with potential contractors or workshops for contractors from the power and energy sector.

In 2022, PGE Dystrybucja was carrying out many investments in the electricity network in the area of operation of all the company’s branches.

Therefore, despite the absence of Energy Forums, i.e. meetings with local government officials held every two years in all branches of the company (the previous one was held in 2021), dialogue with representatives of local governments as natural partners in investment processes was conducted on a large scale.

More than one and a half thousand operational meetings were held in all branches of the company with these partners who are important to the company. The meetings concerned both ongoing investments and the development plans of the power grid and the plans of the municipalities, with particular emphasis on investments made with the support of EU funds. In the past year, a particularly important group of stakeholders were the company’s existing and potential service contractors.

Meetings with this group of stakeholders were held in each of the branches, and remote workshops were held at the company’s headquarters, attended by almost 500 contractors. The participants became acquainted with the scope of investments planned for the coming years, as well as with the requirements of tender proceedings conducted in PGE Dystrybucja. Representatives of the company presented the company’s technical potential and planned operational works in the form of a video transmission.

They also discussed key investment programs, such as the cabling of the grid and the implementation of remote reading meters, as well as the Health, Safety and Compliance rules applicable in PGE Dystrybucja when working with contractors. With a view to expanding and consolidating good business relations, during the Energetics Energy Fair in Lublin, the PGE Dystrybucja stand was dedicated precisely to contractors who had previously received invitations to the „PGE Dystrybucja Zone for Contractors”.

During the three days of the fair, the zone was visited by dozens of representatives of companies cooperating or interested in starting cooperation.

In 2022, PGE Dystrybucja strengthened its cooperation with the Territorial Defence Forces (WOT). Nine agreements on cooperation with WOT brigades in the area of operation of all branches of the company were signed. As part of the cooperation, joint exercises were held by power engineers and the WOT simulating a critical situation – power supply failure in designated facilities. Power supply was restored by connecting a Container Field Power Plant.

Exercises were conducted in Radzyń Podlaski, Ustrzyki Dolne, Radom and Radomsko. Further joint activities are planned. Regular cooperation is also taking place with fire brigade units.

District heating has a key impact on the fight against low-scale emissions in Polish cities. For years, PGE Energia Ciepła’s CHPs have been supporting local governments in the fight for clean air. The branches of the PGE Energia Ciepła company, together with local governments, engage in information and education campaigns on connecting buildings to the district heating network. Energy and heat conservation was also an important theme in 2022.

PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna carried out a number of activities aimed, among other things, at reliably informing stakeholders about the energy transition at the Bełchatów and Turów Complexes.

In the case of the Turów complex, as part of the information campaign in connection with the ongoing concession process, PGE GiEK, among other things, posted current information on the Turów Mine on a dedicated website www.turow2044.pl, which was established in December 2020 as a multilingual website dedicated to the Turów Mine and Power Plant. The website contains information on the activities of the Turów power complex in the context of the current coal mining concession.

Another webinar, which was held on two dates due to high interest, concerned the provisions of the Solidarity Shield. The topic of the meeting with representatives of local authorities and institutional customers was the law on emergency measures to limit the amount of electricity prices and support for certain consumers in 2023.

The webinar was attended by approx. 450 representatives of local authorities and institutions that purchase energy under the public procurement procedure. A PGE Group company is the leading energy seller in this segment.

In September 2022, PGE Obrót also co-organised an energy debate on the popularity and development of renewable energy sources.