At the beginning of March, the President of the City of Chełm Jakub Banaszek published the following post on his social media:

The fuel-price crisis can be addressed. The example of the municipal filling station in Chełm shows that it is possible to keep fuel prices several dozen groszy below Orlen’s prices while remaining profitable. If it can be done in Chełm, it can be done throughout Poland, especially since the fuel is supplied to us by an intermediary.

Of course, this post appeared before the sharp increases in fuel prices caused by the war in the Persian Gulf. However, the war and “wartime” prices will not last forever, and the situation will return to normal in the future. When it returns to normal, the price difference between Bolesławiec and other cities in the region will probably return to “normal” as well…

Even before the ongoing price crisis, fuel prices in Bolesławiec were among the highest in the region and even in Poland (of course, excluding motorways, where even higher prices can be found). All it took was leaving our city and county, and fuel was immediately several dozen groszy cheaper per litre. It was much cheaper than in Bolesławiec in: Zgorzelec, Lubań, Lwówek, Złotoryja, Polkowice, Lubin, Jelenia Góra and Wrocław… in other words, practically everywhere.

Municipal filling stations as a way to reduce high prices

Readers still ask us why it is so expensive in Bolesławiec and whether nothing can really be done about it. As proof of the high prices, they send photographs showing fuel prices at other stations located outside our city.

Many other cities in Poland, facing a very similar situation to ours, decided to open municipal filling stations. This solution caused prices at the other stations to immediately fall by 20–30 groszy… So it is possible to sell fuel more cheaply, while drivers gain an additional choice of where to refuel their vehicles.

Therefore, on 19 February, still before the ongoing price crisis, we contacted the Bolesławiec City Hall with a question and a request for comment:

Is the city of Bolesławiec planning or considering opening such a municipal filling station in Bolesławiec?

We received the following response:

The City Hall is not planning to build a filling station.