Victoria Gryb, member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Head of the Subcommittee on Energy Security

 

 

Last week, the Verkhovna Rada adopted an important draft law (No. 5322) on transparency and integrity in energy markets, the REMIT regulation. This is one of the key European integration draft laws, which marks the unchanging course of Ukraine for the further integration of the electric energy and natural gas market with the European energy markets.

In 2015, Ukraine chose the European model of the electricity and natural gas market. It is based on liberalization, development of competition, free formation of prices for energy resources, transition to European culture and practice of market relations. It also contributes to the unification of the Ukrainian and European energy systems.

However, full integration of Ukraine is possible after full implementation of all European standards. One of them is the REMIT regulation (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency).

What is REMIT, and why is it extremely important?

The REMIT regulation is an established European practice aimed at preventing abuses in wholesale energy markets. It also involves the responsibility of market participants for alleged manipulations.

The draft law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine as to Prevention of Abuse in the Wholesale Energy Markets", adopted on June 10, aimed at implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1227/2011 on integrity and transparency in the wholesale energy market (Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency).

The Ukrainian parliament worked on the law for almost two years. Now it is rightly considered the most significant in the work process of the 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada for the energy industry.

Its task is to prevent abuses in the wholesale energy markets. The law will create the necessary competitive conditions for all market participants. Without it, it is impossible to become a full-fledged player on the European markets. It is also one of the main conditions for creating a competitive market where household and non-household consumers will have fair prices.

The adoption of the law was positively evaluated by our European partners, in particular the representatives of the Secretariat of the Energy Community, EU Delegation in Ukraine, and the USAID Energy Security Project.

Artur Lorkovsky, director of the Secretariat of the Energy Community, emphasized that draft law No. 5322 fully complies with international rules and practices. Torsten Wöllert, Energy Counselor at the EU Delegation in Ukraine, called the bill a basis for integration with European energy markets.

Currently, Ukraine should work on the full integration of the Ukrainian and European electricity and natural gas markets.

By implementing the rules of the European REMIT Regulation, we will create a transparent and competitive environment, which is extremely important for unifying markets.

This will strengthen the mutual energy security of Ukraine and the European Union and help overcome dependence on Russian fossil fuels. In general, we have great prospects for the Ukrainian energy sector. The main thing is not to stop on the chosen path.