20.03.2025
The program “EnergoStart: Training for the Future” continues, 43 participants from all over the country successfully complete all planned modules. The program is aimed at training specialists for their successful work in the field of energy and energy efficiency. The training is carried out with the support of the project “Promoting Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine”, which is implemented by GIZ Ukraine on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
We talk to the lecturer – expert in energy systems management and electricity market functioning Dmytro Olefir about what issues are of interest to the students, who should help Ukrainians in implementing energy security measures, and what areas of training territorial communities need.
As part of the curriculum, he covers the topics of the current state and prospects for the development of the unified energy system of Ukraine, taking into account current challenges, including its component – distributed generation, in particular, power plants operating on renewable energy sources, the features of the introduction of a “green” tariff, as well as pricing in the electricity market. In addition to lectures, time is devoted to discussing topics that cause lively discussions.
– Dmytro Oleksandrovych, what questions do listeners ask you, what exactly interests them?
– Listeners ask meaningful questions, the answers to which sometimes require additional time for preparation. The urgent topic is the implementation of microgrids in communities – local electrical networks that have their own sources of energy generation and can operate autonomously (in isolated mode). To develop such networks, Ukraine has all the resources – wind, sun, the latest technologies and support from international partners. But implementing distributed generation is only part of the issue.
It is necessary to ensure reliable management of this generation in accordance with the needs of electricity consumers and the needs of the country’s energy system as a whole, helping the operators of the distribution system and transmission system, and this should be implemented through the implementation of automated dispatch control systems, in particular, microgrids.
The process of implementing microgrids in communities is already in an active stage of implementation: there are communities that are one step ahead of others and, together with domestic contracting energy companies, are implementing such systems. The number of these projects is constantly growing.
– The implementation of the latest technologies requires significant financial resources. Can communities in this case count on assistance from the state or foreign partners? Who should help communities?
– In certain cases, the state should help. Of course, communities should organize funds to ensure the energy security of these communities, power plants, industrial and household consumers located within the communities. This is very relevant now, during the period of martial law, in order to ensure reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply to consumers of Ukraine.
Perhaps communities should interact more meaningfully with the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, which actively cooperates with foreign missions and companies that are also ready to join in providing possible assistance. I know of several examples when companies from different European countries, in order to help our country, asked to provide information on which communities need generators and other devices to provide electricity and heat to Ukrainian consumers.
Specialized institutions and UN agencies, for example, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are also involved in providing assistance to vulnerable segments of the population. Therefore, in my opinion, all available and effective mechanisms should be used to ensure financing and implementation of such work.
– What type of training do communities need for future development? What training courses could be launched on the Energy Club platform?
– Training areas are constantly updated, because the issues in war conditions are constantly expanding and changing. There is a task of integrating the electricity market into the European electricity market, and therefore the courses may be expanded in the future. For example, the issue of creating and developing aggregated groups, attracting Ukrainian citizens to the number of active consumers – individuals or enterprises that produce electricity from renewable sources, covering their own consumption needs at its expense, and selling the surplus of the generated resource on the electricity market is an extremely relevant direction.
An extremely relevant direction is the creation of virtual power plants. The world does not stand still, and the energy sector of Ukraine must also improve and develop, introducing modern innovative technologies, especially during war.
Another important direction is legal support, in particular, the dissemination of information about current European directives and regulations, because our country is on the path to integration into the European Union, and the domestic electricity market is on the path to joining the single European market. The community needs to be prepared for the fact that in the future it will be possible to trade electricity not only within the country, but also on the European market.
I hope this will happen in the near future, and in order for our communities and consumers to be ready for this, they must be legally prepared, including through training programs that are successfully implemented under the auspices of the Energy Club.
Dmytro Olefir is a certified electrical engineer, a master of business administration, and deputy director of Energy Trade Group LLC. He manages BESS management automation projects and the organization of an aggregated group for work in the electricity market, the processes of building models for distributed generation and BESS construction projects, as well as the optimization of work strategies in the electricity market. Part-time, he participates in the implementation of an innovative project to implement a hybrid gas turbine + BESS system. He worked in senior positions at SE NPP Ukrenergo, PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo, JSC Market Operator, PJSC Centrenergo, PrJSC ZTR, LLC ETG, LLC Balancenergo in the context of company transformation, European integration, and liberalization of the electricity market.
Has achievements in the management of the Unified Energy System of Ukraine, the implementation of World Bank projects, the organization of successful commercial activities in the electricity market. Has significant experience in risk management, including in conditions of uncertainty and lack of information for decision-making, effective planning, restoration and/or increase in profitability, implementation of new trading strategies in various market segments, development of proposals and measures to overcome threats in the energy industry, international cooperation, development of a regulatory framework in the areas of energy system management and the functioning of electricity markets.
Dmytro Oleksandrovych also has significant experience in interacting with the National Commission for the Regulation of Energy and Power Generation of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the World Bank, research institutes, USAID, generating companies and DSOs, European TSOs and SOs of the CIS and Baltic countries, international and Ukrainian consulting companies, international software developers.
He is an employee of the Institute of Electrodynamics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, until recently – a corresponding member of the Academy of Technological Sciences of Ukraine. He has been actively engaged in teaching for many years. He has deep interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral knowledge, strategic thinking, and an impeccable business reputation.
