Poland's top two utilities, PGE and Tauron, on Thursday said they would look at buying Polish railways' energy arm, setting up a four-way race after expressions of interest from two other utilities, Enea and Energa.



Last month, state-run railway PKP said it planned before the end of this year to invite potential bidders for its fully-owned subsidiary, PKP Energetyka, as part of its programme to pay off debt by selling non-core assets.



PKP Energetyka is Poland's No.5 utility by the amount of energy sold and the only Polish energy company with a country-wide distribution network.



Poland's energy sector, mostly state-controlled, is struggling to modernize and expand its network, while operators are fighting for clients.



PGE said it would look into the sale if a takeover proves in line with its goal of raising value for shareholders. Tauron said on Thursday it planned to run due diligence on PKP Energetyka.



PKP Energetyka closed 2013 with a net profit of 90 million zlotys ($26.5 million) and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 185 million. It sold 6.6 terawatt hours (TWh) of energy last year.

(Reporting by Anna Koper and Adrian Krajewski; editing by Keiron Henderson)