Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada approved the draft law No. 4493 “On Electricity Market”.
In the context of the critical state of the energy sector, this decision is extremely important. After all, the stable competitive market should become a factor of attracting investments, which are so important for the generation of electrical energy, in the medium term.
In addition, the law No. 4493 contains principles of transparent and effective connection to the networks of electric distribution companies and reduces the monopolists’ impact on customers of connection significantly.
Moreover, the guarantees of state incentives for renewable energy, which is the only direction developed dynamically in the energy sector, are kept.
At the same time, the head of the energy sector Oleksiy Orzhel emphasizes that the efficiency of introduced competitive principles of this law will largely depend on its implementation.
“It is early for consumers to expect the immediate positive impact, since it can be achieved only when new participants and new capital enter the market,” Oleksiy Orzhel said and added that an energy regulator had to provide its proper implementation. However, it is still dependent and inefficient and the implementation of the new law will be delayed until its structure is changed.
“The regulator should be the next main political actor after the Verkhovna Rada in implementing this law in the functioning market realities. The market, in which 70% of thermal power plants are concentrated in the hands of one company and the amount of cross-subsidies between consumers reaches 45.8 billion hryvnas, which has a significant difference in prices between different types of generation with different forms of ownership and adjacent markets of which, in particular, the coal market, are uncompetitive,” Oleksiy Orzhel said.