The Cabinet of Ministers on August 14 put amendments to the mechanism of functioning of public service obligations (PSO) in the electricity market.

The relevant decision was voted in accordance with an abridged procedure.

Initially, draft amendments to PSO were not put on the agenda of a government meeting on that day. The intention of the Cabinet of Ministers to take the appropriate decisions became known from the speech of Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Ihor Nasalyk. He said that among other things, on August 14 amendments will be put to the PSO mechanism, which will allow reducing the cost of electricity for large industrial consumers.

In turn, presidential representative in the government Andriy Gerus, commenting on the decision during the meeting, noted that it was put on the agenda (as paragraph 4.52) without prior publication for public discussion.

In addition, he emphasized that, according to the law on the electricity market, decisions on PSO should be sent to the government for consideration by the regulator, the National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER).

"What I was informed about by the NCER is that it is categorically against such a version of PSO, since it is necessary to think not only about large enterprises, but also medium/small enterprises, water utilities," Gerus said.