Invenergy sues Poland's Tauron over wind PPAs cancellation

Invenergy said today it is suing Polish energy company Tauron Polska Energia SA (WSE:TPE) for the “unlawful” termination of long-term contracts with certain wind farms in Poland.

The Chicago-based renewables developer has filed four lawsuits against Tauron, seeking total damages of more than PLN 1.2 billion (USD 321m/EUR 283m). It said that this is one of the largest recent commercial legal actions in the Polish courts.

The lawsuits concern the signing of 15-year wind power purchase agreements in 2010 by Tauron’s wholly-owned unit Polska Energia – Pierwsza Kompania Handlowa Sp z oo (PE-PKH) and Invenergy. The particular Tauron unit entered into liquidation in 2014 after previously selling all of its significant assets. The process though was never completed formally.

Invenergy claims that Tauron had resorted to unlawful actions in order to cause the annulment of PE-PKH's contractual obligations. The US company said it had challenged the “highly unusual corporate maneuver” in court. However, it added that Tauron has done nothing to reverse the overall damage caused.

In newly-filed actions, Invenergy alleges that former representatives of the State Treasury had been substantially involved in the planning to enact the cancellation of the deals.

"Over several years, we made every attempt to work with Tauron and others in positions of authority to resolve this, and we asserted our rights in court cases against PE-PKH. We were met with nothing but delays, obstructions and, ultimately, silence. Today's legal actions are an unavoidable result of Tauron's refusal to honor contractual obligations and the rule of law," stated Michael Blazer, chief legal officer at Invenergy.

(PLN 1.0 = USD 0.268/EUR 0.235)

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