The power sector's biggest player floored analysts on Tuesday with an announcement that shook the very foundations of how power made in its plants will be traded.

Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), the largest electricity group in Poland, announced that, starting next year, it wants to trade on the stock market nearly all the energy it produces. This is not just a far-fetched plan either, reports Parkiet. Apparently the key decisions around this move have already been made by the PGE board.

The move comes as a total surprise to analysts, since just three months ago executives at PGE told them there were no plans to begin trading power on the commodity exchange until 2016.

"We will prove we are not creating a monopoly in the energy market," says PGE president Tomasz Zadroga. "We're ready for full transparency when it comes to energy trading. Until now, the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) said the price of our energy wasn't set in a transparent way. This move will eliminate those concerns."

Mr Zadroga added that trading power on the market will also bring to public attention the efficiencies of the group's operations. He says PGE might well have to pay more attention to profitability and revenues after the price of its power is set by market demand.

Poland AM