Orlen removes Termika chief Andrzej Gajewski after warning of winter coal shortages

Dismissal following forum remarks

Polish multi-energy group Orlen removed Andrzej Gajewski from his position as chief executive and management board member of Orlen Termika on 16 September. Gajewski had led the subsidiary since June 2024, overseeing district heating assets that generate 11% of Poland's total heat output. The company confirmed his exit the following morning without stating an official reason for the management change. Industry reporting linked the decision to public statements Gajewski delivered at the XXX Polish Heating Forum in Międzyzdroje earlier in the week. He addressed industry delegates about fuel availability risks before the 2026–2027 heating season.

If there is a cold winter, we will run out of coal. We will all be scraping the bottom. I think this is the greatest risk that awaits us today.

Fuel dynamics and stock depletion

Orlen Termika supplies approximately 70% of Warsaw's residential heating needs as well as 60% of demand in neighbouring municipalities including Pruszków, Piastów, and Michałowice. Its asset base includes the Żerań, Siekierki, and Pruszków combined heat and power plants, alongside the Wola and Kawęczyn heat plants. Gajewski explained that high gas prices following a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz prompted Polish power utilities to switch from natural gas to cheaper hard coal. This fuel substitution, combined with high consumption during the previous cold winter, depleted fuel reserves across the domestic power sector. Although Gajewski noted that Orlen Termika had accumulated roughly 1.5 million tonnes of coal reserves to protect its own operations, aggregate inventories across the country tightened.

Shrinking reserves and rising imports

Data from the Industrial Development Agency (ARP) shows that pithead coal reserves at Polish mines fell to 3.2 million tonnes at the end of July 2026, down from 5.65 million tonnes a year earlier. Polska Grupa Górnicza (PGG), the largest coal producer in the European Union, reported that its own stockpiles will drop close to zero by the end of 2026 after starting the year above 2 million tonnes. PGG increased its 2026 extraction plan by over 1 million tonnes to meet domestic consumption. Thermal coal imports into Poland rose 168% year-on-year in the first half of 2026 to reach 3.06 million tonnes, with Kazakhstan providing more than half of that volume and Colombia supplying 1.0 million tonnes.

Long-term coal reliance and grid pressures

The debate over coal stocks intersects with broader grid planning as Polish electricity prices remain elevated. Speaking at a parliamentary conference in the Sejm on 14 September, Polish transmission system operator PSE chief executive Grzegorz Onichimowski cited delays in building 8 GW of planned gas-fired units by 2030. Onichimowski stated that the operator will need regulatory mechanisms to extend the operation of older coal-fired generation blocks beyond 2028. The Polish Chamber of Commerce of Coal Sellers similarly reported that Polish energy security will depend on coal and gas units for at least a decade, even as extraction costs stand at 835 PLN per tonne and domestic retail heating coal prices jumped by 500 PLN in recent weeks.