Fuel prices are the highest in years, so the Prime Minister announced intervention. This is to be a special CPN package, which the Prime Minister deciphered as “lower fuel prices”.
This is, of course, a reference to the legendary brand known to everyone who grew up in the times of the Polish People's Republic or in the 1990s.
What was CPN?
In short – it was a large oil company that was rebranded at the end of the last century and became the PKN Orlen brand known today.
The rest of the article is below the video
CPN dealt with a bit of everything we associate Orlen with today – storage, transport, wholesale and retail distribution of petroleum products. Hence the name – Petroleum Products Headquarters. Of course, CPN stations looked completely different than today's Orlen points. During the Polish People's Republic, there were no highways, there were incomparably fewer cars, and the availability of various food products was limited. CPN stations were smaller than Orlen points – and you couldn't get casseroles or hot dogs there.
See also: How to “outsmart” high prices at gas stations? Here are five ways
There were also fewer CPN stations than Orlen outlets today. It is estimated that in the 1980s there were from 1.3 to 1.4 thousand CPN points. Meanwhile, Orlen currently has approx. 2,000 in Poland. station.
CPN has a very long history. The entity was established in 1944, during World War II, initially as the Polish Oil Monopoly. At the end of 1945, the name was changed to Centrala Produktów Naftowych.
CPN was one of the most famous brands in Poland during the Polish People's Republic. Partly, of course, because it was a fuel monopoly. But efficient – at least for the realities of the time – marketing also helped. For example, Poles loved the orange logo created in the 1960s by artist Ryszard Bojar – it consisted of the letters CPN incorporated into a fuel dispenser.
Why was the brand extinguished? At the end of the 20th century, CPN became more and more associated with the harsh times of the Polish People's Republic. But there was also another reason – it was decided to merge two fuel concerns – Centrala Produktów Naftowych CPN and Petrochemia Płock. It was decided that the new entity should have a new, fresh brand – and this is what Polish Oil Concern Orlen decided to do.
Historic fuel dispensers from Janów Podlaski with the old CPN logo
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Marcin Bruniecki/REPORTER / East News
CPN is not quite dead
So CPN turned into Orlen, but it did not completely die. Not everyone knows that there is still one station operating under the banner of the iconic PRL brand. It is located at street Markowska 15a in Warsaw. It is managed by Orlen, which still has the rights to the CPN brand.
The station has been operating since 2018 – so it was launched almost two decades after the brand was phased out. Where did this idea come from? We don't know for sure. However, it was said that it was a pragmatic move – there were many people who wanted to restore the former brand, and the simplest move for Orlen to retain the rights to the brand was to use it in practice. This is why it was probably decided to open one station with the CPN logo.
CPN logo
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Mateusz Madejski / Business Insider Polska
The only CPN station in Poland is quite small – it has only three distributors. Interestingly, you can buy “Orlen” products there, for example the well-known hot dogs. Orlen's Vitay loyalty program also operates there, and customers receive receipts with the Orlen logo.
Look: Crouching CPN, hidden Orlen. It is the only such station in Poland
Warsaw CPN station
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Mateusz Madejski / Business Insider Polska
What is CPN supposed to be now?
Today's CPN – i.e. “lower fuel prices” – is supposed to be associated by Poles with tax cuts.
Look: Donald Tusk confirms. There is a decision on VAT and excise duty on fuel
The most important decisions include: reducing the VAT rate on fuels from 23%. at 8%, reducing excise duty on fuel to the minimum required in the European Union. – Today, at an extraordinary meeting, the Polish government will take a whole package of decisions so that in a situation over which we have no control, we can have maximum influence to keep fuel prices as low as possible – said Donald Tusk. He informed about the entire package of decisions, thanks to which fuel prices should be lower before Easter. According to the Prime Minister's announcement, retail fuel prices are to fall by approximately PLN 1.2 per liter.
Author: Mateusz Madejski, journalist of Business Insider Polska
