The war for billions from "Clean Air." "We've gone back to the Stone Age."

• Contractors in the "Clean Air" program claim that provincial environmental funds' arrears in payments for their projects reach PLN 10 billion. They have to wait months, sometimes even a year, for the money they are owed.
• They also complain about the new procedures in the program, including the need to submit applications through an operator at the office and the settlement of applications from 2024 according to the new procedure and maximum prices.
• Entrepreneurs claim that the suspension of application submissions for the program has left them in debt, and banks are refusing them loans. They have been forced to lay off employees.
• The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) states that the outstanding payments amount to PLN 1.2 billion. Some payments have been suspended until beneficiaries submit explanations. All correctly submitted applications from 2024 are scheduled to be settled by the end of September 2025.

PLN 10 billion - according to the Association of Clean Air Employers (ZPCP), this is how much the provincial funds for environmental protection and water management owe in total to companies participating in the "Clean Air" program.

On Thursday (July 24), the Union announced during a press conference in Warsaw that the program's fund arrears in payments are several months or even a year old.

As a result, contractors are facing arrears in payments to construction wholesalers and their subcontractors. Banks are refusing them loans, and potential beneficiaries of the program have lost confidence in it.

Entrepreneurs say they are facing a wall: they have to lay off or close down their companies.

Piotr Pilarski of RES Electrical Engineering stated that due to delayed payments (according to him, the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (WFOŚiGW) owes his company approximately PLN 4 million) for applications completed in 2024, he had to lay off half of the company's 70 employees . He is also having trouble obtaining loans. His creditworthiness with banks has plummeted due to his failure to pay invoices on time.

In turn, Hubert Dziubeła from Defro, a manufacturer of heating equipment, said that he had already had to lay off 200 people from a thousand-strong workforce because customers had stopped receiving heating boilers ordered earlier under the "Clean Air" program .

- There are currently over 8,400 uncollected heating devices in our warehouses - Hubert Dziubeła gave an example.

He added that after the program was resumed (which took place on March 31 this year), last year's applications are now being settled according to the new regulations, which include, among other things , maximum prices for products and services, which was not the case before.

New regulations and new problems for companies and beneficiaries

Termostars CEO Dariusz Zieliński noted that the changes to the regulations have paralyzed the acceptance of new applications. Applications are now required to be submitted exclusively through operators in municipalities or provincial funds. Previously, electronic applications could be submitted via the online system.

"We've gone back to the Stone Age. Some operators take up to eight hours to process a single request," Zieliński gave an example.

He also pointed out that there is no single nationwide "Clean Air" program, but there are 16 provincial programs, because each fund has different rules.

"There are no standardized procedures. Officials handle applicants arbitrarily, according to their own whims," argued the Termostars president.

He added that this program is primarily aimed at people at risk of energy poverty , who are also typically digitally excluded. They typically have very low incomes, are elderly, or are very ill.

"Their homes are generally in very poor condition, often dilapidated. They can't afford mandatory energy audits," Zieliński noted.

It is worth mentioning here that the Polish Smog Alarm (PAS) calls for the introduction of an energy audit voucher for owners of single-family houses, regardless of their participation in the "Clean Air" program.

This voucher is intended to facilitate access to audits, which are currently mandatory for many levels of funding under the Clean Air programme.

Is the program in need of another facelift? The fund denies the allegations.

Paweł Cygan, representative of ZPCP, pointed out that public trust in "Czyste Powietrze" is now seriously undermined after the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management revealed the scale of irregularities.

This is evidenced, among other things, by the significantly lower number of new applications submitted. "Since the launch of Clean Air 2.0 (March 31st), only 14,000 applications have been submitted so far. Last year, it was 10,000 applications per week ," Cygan calculated.

He added that officials at provincial funds are delaying the disbursement of funds by sending beneficiaries more and more letters demanding explanations or supplementing documents.

- The Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management has 5 years to audit the beneficiary of the program, why won't it pay him at least these undisputed amounts? - Cygan asked.

The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW), however, sees the situation differently. Data from the WFOŚiGW indicate that the amount of overdue payments under the program is PLN 1.2 billion, not PLN 10 billion, while the amount in applications returned for supplementation, corrections, and clarifications is approximately PLN 700 million.

"According to information as of July 18, 2025, provided by 16 Regional Funds for Environmental Protection and Water Management, since the beginning of the program, 1,049,545 applications have been submitted for a total amount of PLN 39,098,985,912, of which approximately 10% are "ghost" applications that never turned into contracts because the applicant changed his mind or submitted the application twice," we read in the NFOŚiGW's position sent to us.

As the Fund emphasizes, these statistics show that 915,751 contracts were signed for PLN 32,518,012,975, and payments concern 722,927 applications for the amount of PLN 16,945,559,724 .

"However, we cannot speak of arrears in payments at the level of PLN 10 or 16 billion, because the number of 722,927 consists of partial and final payment applications (i.e. these are completed and unfinished - ongoing investments)," notes the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

He also reminds that in the previous edition of the program, the contractor had up to 36 months from the date of submitting the application for funding to complete the project, and the full payment of funds takes place after the completion and settlement of the entire investment.

Moreover, as Robert Gajda, Vice President of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, recently assured, provincial funds have already received guidelines to streamline and accelerate settlements . Properly submitted applications from 2024 will be prioritized and settled by the end of September.

Regarding the smaller number of applications submitted, of the 30,000 submitted so far, only 14,000 were complete. The rest are applications that require supplementation, for example, the program's required energy audit.

"The table of unit costs for home thermal modernization was introduced to help program beneficiaries estimate their subsidized expenses. It will also facilitate the evaluation of contractors' offers and speed up the assessment of payment applications," explains the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.

We would like to remind you that costs in the "Clean Air" program should be incurred in accordance with the law, the subsidy agreement and the program rules – purposefully, economically and efficiently - emphasizes the Fund.

As for the accusation that applications can only be submitted analogue, the Fund responds that "the program is not abandoning digital processes, on the contrary - it is developing them."

"The GWD IT system and the Central Clean Air Database (CBCP) are being developed, which streamlines processes, automates some tasks and increases the transparency of operations," we read in the response to our questions.

The Fund emphasizes that the current operational solution implemented by municipalities and the Regional Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (WFOŚiGW) provides support to beneficiaries, particularly those digitally excluded, and does not constitute a departure from digital solutions. "This is not a step backward, but a remedial action," it emphasized.

The program's turbulent history. New regulations are intended to prevent abuse.

The new edition of "Clean Air" launched on March 31st after a four-month hiatus. Representatives of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) and the Ministry of Climate argued that the reason for suspending the application process was the scale of financial abuse in the program.

The program has been reformed: a thermal modernization subsidy can now only be obtained for one house, and you must also prove that you have been the owner or co-owner of the property for at least three years (excluding inheritances).

Some investments require operators to be present to carry out the thermal modernisation from start to finish together with homeowners, and maximum costs for individual investment elements have also been defined.

Another new feature is the mandatory energy audit of the building before its thermal modernization, after which an energy performance certificate must be presented, which will demonstrate energy savings.