25 people charged. Continuation of the CBA action at the Ostrołęka Power Plant

On Thursday, the CBA, at the request of the prosecutor's office, detained 25 people in connection with abuses at the Ostrołęka power plant. The prosecutor's office brought charges against 25 people in an investigation into mismanagement in the future construction of a coal unit at the Ostrołęka Power Plant.

As Zbigniew Szpiczko, spokesman for the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Białystok, announced at a press conference on Friday, the charges brought against the authorities of energy companies in this case in 2018-2019 concern primarily abuse of powers or failure to fulfill obligations and causing significant material damage.

None of the suspects pleaded guilty, some of them gave explanations. There were no applications for arrest - the prosecutor's office applied to people, among others, property guarantees from PLN 30,000 PLN up to PLN 500 thousand zloty.

The investigation, which has been ongoing for several years, concerns investments in the new block of the Ostrołęka Power Plant. Covers the years 2018-2019. The property damage that concerned the Ostrołęka Power Plant, Enea SA and Energa SA is estimated at over PLN 1 billion.

The case is related to the investigation into losses incurred during the construction of one of the units of the Ostrołęka Power Plant. This is the Ostrołęka C project, which was supposed to be the last large coal-fired power plant in Poland. At the beginning of 2020, Energa and Enea decided to suspend its financing.

In mid-August 2025, the Supreme Audit Office announced that the actions of the management board of Elektrownia Ostrołęka related to the abandonment of the construction of the Ostrołęka C coal unit and the settlement of the interrupted investment were illegal and uneconomical. The management board allegedly accepted the general contractor's claims amounting to over PLN 958 million net, without verifying their validity or amount. Moreover, according to the auditors, the company's main shareholders - Energa and Enea - received incomplete and false information regarding the investment costs, which is why they were misled. Due to the Supreme Audit Office's findings, the case was referred to the prosecutor's office.

Plans to build a large coal block at the Ostrołęka Power Plant have already appeared in Energa's strategy for 2008–2015. The concept was returned to in 2016, after the change of government. The joint investment by Energa and Enea was to cost approximately PLN 6 billion, and its implementation was entrusted to the GE and Alstom consortium.

Construction works began in October 2018, just before the local elections. Less than a year and a half later, in February 2020, investors suspended financing for the project. The analyzes carried out showed that the construction of a coal-fired unit has no economic justification. In June 2020, the original concept was officially abandoned and the decision was made to replace the coal unit with a gas and steam unit.