Increase in price caps reduces electricity outage duration in Ukraine by 1.5 outage schedules – regulator

The decision to increase electricity price caps on spot markets starting January 16 ultimately made it possible to reduce the duration of electricity outages for consumers by 1.5 outage schedules, said Yuriy Vlasenko, head of the national energy regulator, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC).

"Our regulatory decisions made it possible to reduce the duration of electricity outages for consumers by 1.5 outage schedules," he said during a speech in the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, where he was summoned following a decision on February 10.

According to Vlasenko, during massive Russian attacks Ukraine was losing approximately 40% of its own generation capacity, leaving no ability to cover demand using domestic resources. At the same time, rising electricity prices in neighboring markets made it impossible to attract imports.

The NEURC chairman explained that after the price caps were raised (by 82.5%, to UAH 15,000/MWh), imports in February nearly doubled compared to the same period in January, while daily volumes reached 50,000 MWh. According to him, this covers 20% of daily consumption.

"The decision on the necessary regulatory changes was made in close cooperation with the government," Vlasenko said.