Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed law No. 330-IX amending the law of Ukraine on the electricity market, which was passed by parliament on December 4, 2019.

The president's press service said on Wednesday that the document is aimed at ensuring proper control of electricity prices in the face of insufficient competition in this market; settling issues of operation of combined heat and power plants under the new model of the electricity market is a prerequisite for providing heat supply to consumers in the heating period.

In particular, the law provides that in the event of significant fluctuations in prices on the electric energy market, the National Commission of Ukraine for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) has the right to set price limits on the day-ahead market with appropriate justification. Such prices are set after consultation with the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

Also, the regulator is authorized to temporarily, until April 1, 2020, establish a tariff for the supply of electricity for producers that generate both electric and thermal energy at combined heat and power plants (in cases provided for by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on assigning special duties).

The law establishes a ban on the sale and/or supply of electric energy imported from the Russian Federation (under bilateral agreements and in the domestic daily market). At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers has the right to cancel this ban for a period determined by it in order to avoid an emergency in the Integrated Power System (IPS) of Ukraine.

The document also provides that the guaranteed buyer sends the difference between income and expenses incurred during the performance of its special duties, to ensure that its own expenses on the fulfillment of special duties for the purchase of electric energy at the feed-in tariff and at the auction price are covered.