10.03.2025
The post-war revival of the national economy of the state and the requirements that an optimal unified energy system should meet during the recovery period became the main topics of discussion on the Energy Freedom by Energy Club talk show, which took place online. Leading experts in the energy sector of Ukraine took part in it.
In particular, during the constructive discussion, which was watched by viewers on LinkedIn, Youtube and Facebook:
The moderator of the meeting, journalist, TV and radio host, media expert Andriy Kulikov noted that the opinions of the people who participated in the discussion could become the basis for forming a pan-Ukrainian vision, because these are high-level specialists.
Vice-President of Energy Club, Head of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency (2021-2023) Valeriy Bezus emphasized: the importance of the topic raised is emphasized by the fact that at the national level, despite the challenges facing Ukraine in the context of the development of the national economy and energy, the discourse, unfortunately, is often filled with unprofessional, manipulative statements, a departure from pragmatic, strategically oriented thinking:
“Therefore, we at Energy Club invite those specialists in the energy sector, whose professionalism and expertise are definitely beyond doubt, to a dialogue, to an open discussion. And we hope that it is your professional view that will be able to format the national discourse, including. Because indeed, the issues are extremely difficult and often polemical even in purely professional circles. The professional, extremely weighty pragmatic opinion of the country’s leading experts, energy professionals, is important.”
Yuriy Boyko, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Acting Minister of Energy of Ukraine (2020) recalled that energy is a basic sector of the economy, and it will be the basis of the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the configuration of the future energy system must be closely linked to reconstruction plans and correspond to new security realities.
“It is necessary to find a reasonable balance between the development of the energy system and ensuring its normal functioning for the survival of the country. In my opinion, the emphasis will be on basic generating capacities – nuclear, thermal energy. Today, the key principle of the so-called energy self-sufficiency of regions is almost the same. Actually, it is within the framework of this ideology that the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Regional Development have already completed the formation of a system of passports of energy independence of regions. And I have bold expectations that within the framework of this concept, more active development and construction of new generation facilities will begin.
As for the short-term prospects, according to Yuriy Boyko, active construction of solar power plants will continue, because this is a very cheap technology with a low cost of electricity production. But in the long term, we will still return to the need for active development of nuclear power.
Against the background of gas shortage, a completely different business model for electricity production using gas-fired generation is emerging. In the current geopolitical conditions, Ukraine has no other alternative course except Europe, so we must be as productive as possible and do everything possible to meet all EU quality indicators. The logic of energy efficiency, both at the industry and business levels, and at the level of the average consumer, should become the first priority. The next elements are the full integration of Ukraine into European markets, is convinced by Oleksiy Orzhel, Head of the Kyiv Office of the Energy Community Secretariat, Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection of Ukraine (2019-2020).
“If we unite economically and unite the markets, this will be a huge factor in the prospects for investors who want to build generation in Ukraine. Most business models assume that Ukraine will become a source for exports to European energy markets. But we do not know how the situation will develop geopolitically. Today it is really very turbulent.
We need to look for new opportunities and new consumers. And here I would look at the electrification of transport, electricity, commercial transport. There is also a national energy and climate plan. This is a very serious document, and its indicators should be followed, of course, given the challenges that, unfortunately, Ukraine has because of the war.”
“The forecasts for the economy in the post-war period are quite optimistic – with a growth of 5-7% of GDP peraina, and as for electricity, this is approximately 2% of the growth in its consumption. We understand that we will return to the pre-war level of electricity consumption in 15 years. But this consumption will be completely different. Its structure is changing, consumers will change, the level of energy efficiency will be increased. This should be a task at the state level, because energy efficiency is one of the main strategic goals of the state,” emphasized Vitaly Zaychenko, Director for Management of the Unified Energy System of Ukraine – Chief Dispatcher of NEC Ukrenergo.
In his opinion, in post-war Ukraine, not only solar and wind power plants will be developed, but also electricity storage systems, because these technologies are becoming cheaper. This sector of the electricity industry is actively developing in Europe. But base generation is also needed by our energy system. We need to build new generating capacities and small modular reactors, which the whole world is talking about.
Ivan Plachkov, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Energy Assembly, Minister of Energy of Ukraine (1999), Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine (2005-2006) is convinced: for the restoration and development of the energy sector, first of all, a legislative and regulatory framework is needed, an effective concept that will take into account the interests of consumers and investors:
“We consider the future energy system exclusively through the prism of the interests of the consumer. And what interests does the consumer have in an optimal unified energy system? There are three main points. The first is accessibility to electricity. The second is the reliability of supply, which, unfortunately, we have lost. And the third is economically justified prices.
Who will now invest enormous funds in the energy sector of Ukraine without certain rules of the game? We see what is happening on the energy market. And the payback period in the energy sector is at least 10-15 years. I do not believe that anyone will do this. Even in peacetime, even if the energy market is working and payments are coming in, it is very difficult to build generation where it is needed.”
From 2004 to 2009, when the energy market was fully balanced, including coal companies, Ukraine’s GDP growth was 8-9% per year. These were the best times for our economy, recalled Sergiy Yermilov, Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine (2000–2001, 2002–2004). He noted that there are different views on how to restore the Ukrainian energy sector, and today the government is paying increased attention to the development of renewable energy, laying the foundation for the future. But there is a significant lag in the development of distribution networks. This applies not only to electricity, but also to gas networks. Active consumers simply cannot enter the energy market normally in the network. The tariff policy also hinders, which, according to the expert, the government is distorting to this day: “And we see the accumulation of debts in the energy market. I think the government’s task is to implement the monetization of social tariffs as soon as possible. If we overcome this problem, and it is not as difficult as it seems, then the inflow of investments into the energy sector will be simply crazy. Because indeed, we have very attractive conditions today. And the next thing: the government must implement a comprehensive energy plan for the development of the energy system.”
Maksim Nemchynov, Vice President of Energy Club, Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine (2020-2021) “The key requirements for a unified energy system in the context of post-war reconstruction: it must be flexible, unified, provide for consumers and satisfy the economic needs of business. Here we must ask the question: how will we return the investment? We need to unite the markets, financial flows and the movement of funds between us and Europe for electricity. I really hope that this will happen by the end of the year. Although the draft law is in the Verkhovna Rada committee. We also need to make decisions regarding tariffs, the economic component of the market, deeply analyze and make decisions carefully and not be afraid of politically difficult moments.
The results of the meeting were summed up by the Vice President of the Energy Club Ivan Hryhoruk: “The post-war revival and the requirements for the optimal future energy system of Ukraine should begin with the National Plan for the Development of the Economy of Ukraine as a component of the European Union economy. In this way, we will be able to combine our vision with the tasks that the European Union is working on, as well as draw attention to institutional donors, partners, investors. The resource energy balance of Ukraine should be reviewed and updated. The harmonization of the legal framework with European legislation in the energy sector is already underway, as are the updating of regulatory acts regarding technical policy and operational safety standards. We need to harmonize international standards, because virtually all the equipment that will be integrated into our modern energy system will be of foreign manufacture — European, American, and it operates on different principles.
Attention should also be paid to the development of base generation, training of energy sector specialists, the quality of electricity, and the reliable provision of power transmission services.
