12.02.2025
In 2024, the Energy Club was very active in discussing and solving problems related to energy in Ukraine. And the fact that, despite numerous challenges, the energy sector continues to develop today, there is a significant contribution of the club’s activities. Energy Club’s plans for 2025 include continuing the dialogue between energy professionals and the government, professional training, restoration and modernization in the energy sector, and developing partnerships with Japanese colleagues, said Maksym Nemchynov, Vice President of the Energy Club. “We try to think ahead, pay attention to critical points in order to eliminate the causes in time and not fight the consequences later,” he stressed.
– Mr. Nemchynov, what achievements of the Energy Club are memorable in 2024?
– One of the most important achievements is that we in the Energy Club managed to unite virtually the entire energy community of Ukraine: state-owned companies, private businesses. Everyone understands that in this situation it is necessary to communicate with each other as much as possible, so with the help of the club, discussions of existing problems in the energy sector are organized on a single platform.
– What challenges did the Energy Club manage to overcome?
– There were questions about the continuation of our activities in the format that was before the full-scale invasion, but in 2024 we were already able to hold many events not only online, but also offline. The audience was large, many were interested. So one of the challenges was to prove our professionalism and expertise by organizing such events.
A significant challenge was also to prove in communication with the authorities that the position of the Energy Club is the quintessence of knowledge and experience of market participants, the opinions of businesses, and that we should be listened to. In my opinion, we managed to cope with this successfully.
– In 2025, does the Energy Club plan to implement certain own initiatives?
– We are already implementing them – this is training. We conduct online courses, and quite thorough ones because both the president and the vice presidents of the Energy Club are professional, expert people. I really like this initiative: to pass on our knowledge and experience in order to further ensure the development of our energy sector, because, unfortunately, the war has greatly affected the personnel, and it will only get more difficult.
Usually, deeply understanding the problems in the energy sector, we draw the attention of the public to them in advance and help initiate their discussion before they become acute enough. We try to think ahead, pay attention to critical points in order to eliminate the causes in time and not fight the consequences later.
– What is the Energy Club’s contribution to the formation of Ukraine’s energy policy?
– I believe that in reality the Energy Club has been able to become quite an influential structure in terms of policy formation. First, we always provide a professional assessment and express a competent opinion. Secondly, we approach any problem very thoughtfully and always discuss it with a very wide range of stakeholders, and then give a balanced position on solving this or that issue. The Energy Club actively cooperates with the Ministry of Energy, and with the NEURC, and with the committee on fuel and energy complex issues of the Verkhovna Rada. We are invited to identify problems, they are interested in our position, they take into account the opinion and listen. So the contribution is quite significant. Today, a clear understanding has been formed: the Energy Club always has its professional, expert position, taking into account the opinion of a wide range of businesses in the energy sector. It is impossible to ignore this position.
– In your opinion, what needs to be changed in the regulatory field for the development of the energy sector?
– First of all, we need to think about the end of the war and further integration into the European Union, and for this we need to unite our energy markets – gas, electricity. Therefore, in my opinion, the time has come for full adaptation to the EU regulatory field. We need to fully unite the markets in terms of the same rules, approach to taxation, unite financial systems and make the movement of funds free in these markets. Strategically, this is the most important issue. Well, and of course, we should regulatorily make our domestic market attractive for investment, and for this we must first deal with debts, with the green tariff, with the work of the balancing market. That is, there are both internal problems that need to be solved in the regulatory plan, and a strategic direction that needs to be worked on.
– What role does the club play in the training of energy professionals?
– One of our initiatives is training, lectures. We have created opportunities for highly specialized professionals to broaden their horizons, develop global thinking, see the situation in the Ukrainian energy sector more deeply to understand the future challenges that will be associated with integration into the European market. We will continue to work in this direction, because, first, it is useful for our energy system, and secondly, we are interested in it and we have the opportunity to do it.
– What international projects and partnerships are priorities for the Energy Club?
– I will give a specific example of a project that I am working on – the development of a partnership between the Energy Club and our Japanese colleagues. We have signed a memorandum of cooperation with Mayekawa – one of the largest and oldest companies in Japan, which produces compressor equipment for the oil and gas industry, high-quality efficient heat pumps, which are currently very important for the further development of Ukraine and ensuring energy efficiency and energy saving. We held a large event for Japanese partners in Ukraine – a presentation of their equipment. It was implemented with the support of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) – a government organization subordinated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. JICA provides technical assistance, grants and concessional loans to developing countries to promote their economic and social development. We see great prospects in cooperation with Japanese colleagues, with the Japanese government and we believe that the technologies that we can get from them will be very useful for Ukraine in terms of energy efficiency and energy supply.
