21.05.2026
Today, being an electricity supplier is much more than just providing a resource. The Ukrainian energy market operates in conditions of constant turbulence: generation shortages, military risks, the need to balance the system, the development of distributed generation and the gradual transition to a new model of energy consumption. In these realities, not only the energy system itself is changing, but also the role of the supplier – from a seller of a resource to a partner who helps the client navigate the complex market, plan consumption and adapt to new challenges.
Executive Director of Prykarpatenergotrade LLC Volodymyr Smolii, in an interview with Energy Club journalist Olena Karpachova, talked about how the retail electricity market has changed over the past year, why predictability and quality of service are becoming key today, how businesses are moving to managing their own energy consumption, and what role distributed generation and regional energy clusters will play in the future.
– Mr. Volodymyr, in April 2026, a year has passed since you headed Prykarpatenergotrade LLC. What has this period been like for you as the CEO in terms of key challenges and management decisions?
– In short, this year has been more about management under constraints than about development in the classical sense. The energy system and the market operate under constant pressure from military risks, a shortage of generating capacity, and the need for flexible balancing. Accordingly, the entire industry does not operate in a “peaceful” logic with predictability and long planning horizons, but in a mode of constant adaptation.
This is clearly visible even in the general dynamics: periodic restrictions and the return of off-peak schedules show that the system is operating in a very tense mode. In parallel, the state is forced to solve several tasks at once — to restore generation, increase imports, and stimulate the development of distributed solutions.
Personally, for me, this year has become a logical continuation of the previous experience. I have worked in local government for over 15 years, almost 10 of them as deputy mayor, where a special emphasis was placed on energy efficiency, infrastructure and international projects. There was also public activity as an independent expert and work with communities. Therefore, understanding the needs of consumers — both domestic, business and municipalities — is not theoretical for me, but practical.
In my new role, this helped me focus on the main thing — stability of supply and process control. This meant strengthening operational planning with “what if” scenarios, constant synchronization with the market — imports, repairs, restrictions — and working on predictability for the client. Because today it is important for people not only to have a resource, but also to understand the situation and feel that it is under control.
– How would you characterize the retail electricity market in Ukraine today: is it already a full-fledged competition of suppliers or a market that continues to operate under significant restrictions?
– Today, it is a combination of two logics. In the segment of free pricing, competition is full-fledged: companies compete on price, service, and conditions. But even there, the framework of competition is largely determined by the physics of the system — the balance of production, import, and consumption. When a shortage occurs, the focus automatically shifts from price to reliability, planning accuracy, and quality of interaction.
In the segment of universal service providers, where PSO operates, the logic is different. Competition does not disappear, but it is more strategic in nature — it is competition for trust and reputation. That is, for how the company will be perceived tomorrow, and not just today.
For us, this has become a practical issue, because in 2024 we returned to the classic PUP model and began a gradual exit from the free price segment. This changes the focus – more responsibility and long-term thinking.
At the same time, it is important to understand the broader context: today the state and the market are forced to move not gradually, as it would be in peacetime, but often “in two steps”. To the classic challenges – energy transition, development of renewable energy, balancing of peak loads – are added the challenges of wartime. And in these conditions, solutions are not always “ideal” – they are often the best possible within the limits of restrictions and time. And this must also be honestly admitted.
– To what extent does the work of suppliers today depend on the general state of the energy system – resource shortage, balancing, restrictions? How does this feel in practice?
– The dependence is complete. The supplier works within the balance that the system creates. When a shortage arises—due to repairs, damage, or import restrictions—it immediately affects the market.
In this realityIt is important not to create illusions. The supplier cannot replace the system, but can professionally manage the interaction – explain, plan, help the client adapt.
Import is a prime example here – it is an important balancing tool, but always with technical and market limitations. Therefore, the key competence of the supplier today is to work in conditions of volatility.
– Has your understanding of the role of the supplier changed over the past year: is it still about selling electricity and gas or is it about managing a complex process of interaction with the market and customers?
– Yes, quite significantly. Today, the supplier is no longer just a seller of a resource, but an operator of interaction between the client and a complex market.
We work in conditions of shortage, regulatory changes, increased requirements for transparency and the country’s general strategic movement towards a new energy model. And in this system, the client is important not only for electricity as a commodity, but also for the controllability of the process.
Therefore, our role is to ensure clarity, predictability, and the ability to work in non-standard situations.
– What makes a supplier’s work most difficult today: market instability, consumption forecasting, or customer interaction features?
– The main difficulty is the need to maintain a balance between the physics of the system, regulatory changes, and customer expectations. All this happens simultaneously and creates a constant factor of uncertainty.
And here the key issue is not to avoid change, but to be able to manage it. Operational flexibility, quality data, and process discipline are becoming critically important.
– How do you think consumers — both residential and business — have changed over the past year? Have they become more demanding of reliability and predictability of supply?
– The changes are quite noticeable. First of all, the value of predictability has increased – it is now critically important for the client to understand not only the current situation, but also possible scenarios.
At the same time, the level of energy literacy has increased significantly. Businesses and some household consumers better understand how the balance is formed, what affects the deficit, what role imports or a repair campaign play. This makes the dialogue more substantive.
And in parallel, a clear demand for service quality has formed – quick answers, digital channels, transparent information. This is no longer added value, but a necessary minimum.
– From your practical experience – can we say that business clients are increasingly moving from simply purchasing a resource to managing their own energy consumption?
– Yes, and this is one of the most logical consequences of how the system works now. When resource availability and price become more volatile, businesses begin to look not only for supply, but also for manageability.
This is manifested in attempts to optimize consumption schedules, use hourly metering, invest in own or backup generation. Accordingly, a different culture of interaction with energy is being formed – as with a resource that can be managed.
In this situation, the role of the supplier is to help make this transition systemic – based on data, analysis and considered decisions, rather than reacting to short-term risks.
– How do you assess the development of distributed generation in Ukraine and, in particular, in the Carpathian region? What new opportunities or challenges does this create for suppliers?
– Distributed generation has actually become a new level of the energy system. Its development is no longer a point – it is a mass phenomenon that forms a new model of consumer behavior.
This is especially noticeable at the regional level, in particular in the Carpathian region, where both business and the private sector are actively investing in their own energy autonomy. As a result, customers appear who simultaneously consume and generate electricity, and this changes the very nature of interaction.
For the supplier, this means an increase in the role of accounting, forecasting, integration with networks and market rules. And this is another area where the company must evolve into a service model.
– What internal changes in Prykarpatenergotrade this year were the most important for the stable operation of the company — in processes, digitalization or work with the team?
– Practice shows that the greatest effect is not given by a separate tool, but by their consistency. When processes, the team and digital solutions work as a single system, then a stable result appears.
This year, we have focused on this very thing — making basic processes more manageable and standardized, gradually strengthening the digital component, especially in terms of interaction with customers, and optimizing the management cycle in order to respond faster to changes.
In conditions of instability, it is no longer a question of efficiency, but a question of the company’s ability to function stably.
– What do you see as the role of “Prykarpatenergotrade” in the coming years: a regional supplier or a participant in the broader transformation of the Ukrainian energy market?
– We are alreadye have undergone a transformation into the model of a classic universal service provider. But our role is broader. Our strategic guideline is to be a driver of the development of a regional energy cluster. That is, to unite business, renewable energy, distributed generation, communities, science and government at the regional level.
We are already moving along this path. In particular, on May 27, we initiated the Precarpathian Energy Forum as a platform where we unite all these environments for a dialogue on energy sustainability.
And at the same time, we understand another important thing. Today, the state is forced to retain tools to influence the system, in particular through the PSO mechanism and subsidized tariffs for the population. This creates restrictions for the market and a burden on the budget, but at the same time is a socially necessary solution.
At the same time, it is obvious that in the future the market will move towards a more market-based pricing model. And we need to prepare for this now. We see this in customer inquiries, from questions about the future of the “green tariff” to planning our own energy consumption and transitioning to hourly pricing.
Therefore, our task is not only to ensure supply, but also to prepare the customer for a new reality, where energy will need to be managed much more actively.
Ahead is a new energy reality, in which not only those who have the resource, but also those who know how to manage it will benefit. And right now, a market is being formed where the key values are stability, predictability, trust and readiness for change.
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