Poland awaiting EU clearance to spin off coal-fired power assets

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WARSAW, May 22 (Reuters) - Poland is awaiting European Commission clearance to spin off coal-fired power generation assets from state-controlled utilities and expects to complete the process in weeks, Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said on Monday.

The state plans to take over coal assets, excluding hard coal mines, owned by its utilities and then transfer them to a new state-owned company. The move is aimed at helping the busniesses to fund green projects because banks now avoid backing coal-dependant companies.

The state had originally planned to complete the process by the end of 2022.

"Dialogue with banks is going well. We are waiting for clearance of the process by the European Commission, which needs to make sure that no public aid is involved," Sasin said.

"I expect this will happen within weeks."

(Reporting by Marek Strzelecki Editing by David Goodman)

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