Ukraine's energy policy should be aimed at enhancing energy efficiency, says Energy Charter Secretary General
Ukraine could have completely ended its purchases of Russian gas if it had raised its energy efficiency level to that of neighboring Slovakia, which, in turn, lags behind a number of other European countries in this indicator, according to Secretary General of the Energy Charter Urban Rusnak, who has for long been the ambassador of Slovakia to Ukraine.
"Creating demand for energy efficiency should be a key principle in the energy policy of Ukraine," he said at a conference entitled "Inside Ukraine: Exploring its Future Role in European Energy Security in Vienna, Austria, on March 19. The event was organized by The Economist magazine, with the support of the Foundation for Effective Governance.
He said this year the Energy Charter Secretariat has prepared recommendations for Ukraine to improve its energy efficiency.
He also said that the second most important issue for the implementation of Ukrainian energy policy is the regulation of the investment climate, "when investment is welcomed and there is predictability in the domestic regulatory system."
Speaking about the issue of relations in the Ukrainian energy sector, he said that the country should follow the rules of the Energy Community, which the country recently joined.
"The question is this: how fast and how steadily it can move in this direction? In any context, we are waiting for all the countries involved in the Energy Charter Treaty to play their role in the modernization of the treaty and supporting its implementation," he added.
He noted that Ukraine remains a rare example of a country that has two grids: the combined energy market inherited from the Soviet Union, and an island on the European energy market.
"The grids should be mutually integrated, interconnected," he added.
Commending discussions about a change in the energy generating structure, he said that Ukraine might join the countries using a combination of technologies – conventional energy generation along with the alternative one – solar, wind power and biomass, which is available in the country in great amounts.
