13.05.2026
The Ukrainian energy market is gradually entering a new stage of development. Legislative changes related to the coupling of the energy markets of Ukraine and the EU open up not only new rules for electricity trading but also a completely different logic for working with energy.
For industrial and commercial consumers, electricity is increasingly becoming more than just an external service or an expense item. Amid war risks, damage to energy infrastructure, supply instability, and the future development of European market mechanisms, businesses are starting to view their own generation, energy storage, cogeneration, and demand-side management as part of their operational and financial strategy.
This is precisely why the concept of the “active consumer” is becoming a practical issue for Ukrainian business. It is no longer just about installing a backup generator in case of outages, but about the company’s ability to manage its own energy balance, reduce dependence on the grid, optimize costs, utilize heat, store energy, and potentially participate in balancing or other market mechanisms.
Energy Club spoke with Hanna Pozdniakova, Director of RSE Group Ukraine, about how the demand of Ukrainian enterprises for energy solutions is changing, which technologies are most practical today for industry, the agricultural sector, logistics, critical infrastructure, and retail chains, and why integration with the European energy market is not only a regulatory reform but also a shift in business mindset.
— Ms. Pozdniakova, the law on the coupling of the energy markets of Ukraine and the EU is often perceived as a major regulatory reform. In business terms, what exactly does it change for Ukrainian industrial and commercial consumers?
— For business, this is not just a regulatory reform, but a transition to more transparent and market-based rules for working with electricity. Ukrainian industrial and commercial consumers are gradually gaining the opportunity to act not only as buyers of electricity but as full participants in the energy market. This involves broader opportunities for own generation, energy storage, participation in balancing, consumption optimization, and the sale of surplus electricity. For enterprises, this means that energy becomes not just an expense item, but an element of the business model, financial stability, and operational security.
— What does the transition of an enterprise to the active consumer model mean in practice? Can we say that business is no longer just buying electricity but is starting to manage its own energy balance?
— An active consumer is an enterprise that does not just receive electricity from the grid but manages its own energy balance. It can produce part of its electricity independently, consume it for its own needs, store it, optimize peak loads, or potentially feed surpluses into the system.
In effect, business is moving from passive dependence on external supply to a more flexible model.
This is particularly important for Ukraine, where the issues of continuity of operations, cost predictability, and resilience to risks have become critical for industry, retail, logistics, the agricultural sector, and critical infrastructure facilities.
— Why is own generation for business today becoming not only a means of protection against outages but also a potential tool for participation in the electricity market?
— After 2022, many companies viewed generation primarily as an emergency solution—or, simply put, to survive outages. Ноw the logic is changing. This winter, most of the “reserve” became almost the main source of power, not just for days, but for weeks.
Own generation is gradually moving from the “reserve” category into the category of a systemic tool for managing the enterprise’s energy. If an enterprise has properly designed generation, automation, the ability to synchronize with the grid, storage, or heat recovery, it can not only provide itself with electricity but also manage costs more effectively, reduce dependence on peak tariffs, and potentially participate in new market mechanisms. That is why today, own generation is no longer just about security, but also about economics.
— Which technologies are currently the most practical for Ukrainian enterprises that want to increase their energy resilience: cogeneration, BESS, gas engines, diesel solutions, heat pumps, or a combination of several solutions?
— There is no universal solution because everything depends on the enterprise profile, consumption schedule, heat load, access to gas, redundancy requirements, and the financial model. For industry and large consumers, cogeneration units based on gas engines are very practical, as they allow for the simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat. This significantly increases the overall efficiency of the project.
BESS solutions are important for balancing, handling peak loads, integrating renewable energy sources (RES), and increasing the flexibility of the energy system. Diesel generators remain relevant as backup or rapid solutions for critical loads. Heat pumps can be effective where there is a need to optimize heat supply and reduce heating costs.
In practice, the most resilient approach is not a single technology but a combination of solutions: for example, cogeneration plus BESS, diesel backup, automation systems, and, if necessary, heat pumps. It is a comprehensive approach that allows an enterprise to obtain not just a generator, but a full-fledged energy model.
— For which types of enterprises are modular energy solutions most relevant: industry, the agricultural sector, logistics, critical infrastructure, retail chains, or other segments?
— Modular energy solutions are relevant for all facilities where continuity of operations, predictable energy costs, and speed of project implementation are critical. Primarily, these are industry, the agricultural sector, logistics complexes, retail chains, data centers, critical infrastructure facilities, municipal energy, and large production sites. Their advantage is that such solutions can be adapted to a specific facility, scaled, installed faster, and integrated into the enterprise’s existing energy infrastructure. For Ukraine, this is particularly important because businesses often need not an abstract “energy solution,” but a specific answer to the question: how to ensure the operation of the facility here and now, but taking into account long-term economics.
— To what extent is Ukrainian business today ready to invest in own generation systemically, rather than just in emergency solutions for outages? Has the logic of demand changed recently?
— Business readiness has increased significantly. While previously most requests indeed concerned emergency backup for outages, now more and more companies are looking at own generation as an element of energy strategy. Business wants to understand not only the cost of equipment but also payback periods, the possibility of savings, integration with production processes, and the prospect of working under new market rules. In other words, demand has become more mature. Enterprises no longer just ask: “What generator do we need?”. They ask: “What model will ensure stability, cost control, and the possibility of development for several years ahead?”. This is a very important shift in mindset.
— What is the main economics of such projects for an enterprise: continuity of production, reduction of electricity costs, the possibility of working on the balancing market, energy efficiency, or all these factors combined?
— The main economics of such projects consist of several factors simultaneously. The first, of course, is continuity of operation. For many enterprises, even a few hours of downtime can cost significantly more than an investment in energy resilience.
The second factor is the management of electricity and heat costs. For example, cogeneration solutions allow for much more efficient fuel use since the enterprise receives both electricity and heat. BESS can help with peak loads, redundancy, and flexibility. In the long term, participation in the balancing market or other market mechanisms is added. Therefore, it is more correct to speak not of a single economic effect, but of a composite model: security, efficiency, flexibility, and new opportunities for income or savings.
— How can the implementation of European rules on balancing, aggregation, and the participation of new players change the business model of own generation in Ukraine?
— The European logic of the energy market is that value lies not only in large centralized generation but also in flexibility, distributed capacity, energy storage, and managed consumption. For Ukraine, this is a very important direction because our energy system needs greater resilience and decentralization. When the rules for balancing, aggregation, and the participation of new players become fully operational, a company’s own generation can gain additional economic logic. An enterprise will be able not only to provide itself with energy but also potentially monetize its flexibility through participation in balancing, grouping into portfolios with other facilities, or providing services to the energy system. This changes the approach itself: generation becomes not just equipment on a site, but an asset that can operate within a market model.
— What role can aggregators play in the new market architecture? Is the Ukrainian market ready for small and medium-sized generation or storage facilities to be combined into single portfolios for market participation?
— Overall, aggregators can become an important link between individual generation, storage, or managed consumption facilities and the energy market. Not every enterprise has the scale or expertise to independently enter the balancing market or work with market mechanisms. But through an aggregator, small and medium-sized facilities can be combined into a single portfolio and create flexibility that is noticeable to the system.
For Ukraine, this is a promising model, but the market still needs clear rules, digital infrastructure, technical readiness of facilities, and trust from business. The potential is there, especially for BESS, cogeneration, industrial facilities, and distributed generation in general.
— Where can energy storage systems provide the greatest effect in Ukraine: in industry, in distributed generation, in balancing, in working with RES, or at the level of critical infrastructure?
— BESS can provide the greatest effect where flexibility is needed: in balancing the energy system, handling peak loads, integrating RES, backing up critical facilities, and stabilizing local energy systems. For enterprises, this is an opportunity not only to have a reserve but also to optimize consumption, reduce dependence on peak periods, and improve the quality of energy supply. The combination of BESS with own generation is particularly promising. For example, cogeneration combined with storage allows for more flexible energy management, better coverage of peaks, and an increase in the overall resilience of the facility. For critical infrastructure, it is also a matter of continuity of operations under conditions of attacks on the energy system.
— Which barriers currently hinder business investment in own generation and storage systems the most: equipment cost, access to financing, regulatory uncertainty, grid connection, or a lack of high-quality engineering preparation for projects?
— Most often, it is not a single barrier but a combination of them. Equipment cost and access to financing remain very important factors, especially for medium-sized businesses. At the same time, regulatory certainty, grid connection conditions, clarity of future market rules, and the ability to correctly calculate project economics are no less critical.
Separately, I would highlight the quality of engineering preparation. A mistake at the design stage can make even expensive equipment ineffective. Therefore, business needs to start not with the choice of a specific generator or battery, but with an energy audit, analysis of the consumption profile, heat loads, redundancy, operational scenarios, and a financial model. It is high-quality engineering that determines whether a project will be truly economically justified.
— Can we say that integration with the European energy market is not just about electricity trading with the EU, but also about a shift in the mindset of Ukrainian business regarding its own energy independence?
— Yes, absolutely. Integration with the European energy market is not just about electricity trading with the EU, but about moving to a different culture of energy management, where business views electricity not as an external service but as a strategic resource. For Ukrainian enterprises, energy independence already means more than just having a backup generator. It is the ability to independently manage a part of their energy balance, forecast costs, reduce risks, integrate modern technologies, and be ready for new market opportunities. In my opinion, it is this logic that will define the development of Ukrainian business in the coming years.
Today, for Ukrainian business, energy resilience already means much more than just the presence of backup power. It is about the ability of an enterprise to independently manage its own energy balance, forecast costs, minimize risks, and adapt to the new architecture of the energy market. That is why own generation, energy storage, cogeneration, and flexibility are gradually becoming not a temporary response to a crisis, but part of a long-term business development strategy. And the deeper Ukraine integrates into the European energy space, the more of a competitive advantage will be gained by those companies that already perceive energy not as an expense, but as a strategic resource.
