Poland's reserves of hard coal have nearly doubled since the previous year, raising concerns from a prominent union regarding potential consequences for the nation's miners, just months ahead of a closely contested parliamentary election.

"We are hearing that state-owned companies are importing significant quantities of coal, while coal extracted from Polish mines remains uncollected," cautioned Boguslaw Hutek, the leader of the influential Solidarity miners' union. "State-owned companies should not work against each other's interests."

In May, coal stockpiles surged by 83% to 10.8 million tons compared to the previous year, as reported by the energy think tank Instrat. The government's decision to halt Russian coal imports in March 2022 prompted state-owned energy producers to heavily import coal from nations such as Colombia, Kazakhstan, and South Africa to avert shortages.

Coal holds significant political importance in Poland, where approximately 75,000 individuals work as miners and millions of households rely on coal for heating. The country's aging coal-fired power plants account for roughly 70% of its electricity generation.

Poland is gearing up for a parliamentary election scheduled for October. Opinion polls indicate that the two main parties might fall short of the required support to govern independently, potentially paving the way for smaller parties to play a significant role in forming a government after the election.