11.03.2025
Leading experts in the energy industry of Ukraine on the air of the Energy Freedom talk show on March 7 summed up the difficult winter period, discussed the current problems of the energy industry, identified key issues that require urgent solutions, and outlined the prospects for future development.
Users on the LinkedIn, Youtube, and Facebook platforms joined the talk show.
The moderator of the meeting, journalist Serhii Stukanov, noted: against the backdrop of difficult socio-political events, it is important for all of us to remain optimistic, and the fact that we have 20 degrees on the thermometer today means that the winter, which was predicted to be the hardest in the history of Ukraine, is behind us – not only in terms of calendar, but also in terms of meteorological. Therefore, starting an energy dialogue about the results of the 2024/2025 winter, the challenges of recovery, and the prospects for development and preparation for the next winter, we should first of all thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the fighters of the energy front. The enemy does not stop attacking our energy system, but it has stood its ground, and overall we survived the winter well.
Ukraine and Ukrainians demonstrate extraordinary resilience to the difficult conditions caused by hostile and aggressive behavior and attacks by a terrorist state. But the effect of the strikes is accumulating, and with it the problems of the energy sector. It is important to start taking care of the next winter today, and, above all, to give signals about the decisions that need to be made at the highest state level to form an appropriate policy so that we can restore the energy sector as quickly and fully as possible and prepare for the next autumn-winter period, emphasized Valerii Bezus, Vice President of Energy Club, Head of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency (2021-2023):
“According to the assessment of the team that worked on the RDNA-4 report, almost $70 million is needed to fully restore the energy sector. It is clear that this resource cannot be obtained in the coming months, the question is whether there will be access to it in the coming years. But prioritization and well-thought-out high-quality preparation for the restoration process, the implementation of restoration projects lay the foundation for the further sustainability of the energy sector, the entire infrastructure and the economy of Ukraine,” he emphasized.
“Now we need to focus, firstly, on facilities that can be restored quickly, both from distribution and especially power units, thermal power plants. Secondly, we need to focus as much as possible on Ukrhydroenergo, on hydroelectric power plants, where damaged equipment needs to be restored and, if possible, increase generation. We can make it to the next heating season. And the third step is reforming the energy market, adapting it to European standards, because we are already working with a family of European energy companies. And it is also necessary to deal with the tariff policy, make the tariffs adequate or economically justified so that we do not have distortions and the market works normally,” noted the Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Energy Assembly, Minister of Energy of Ukraine (1999), Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine (2005-2006) Ivan Plachkov.
The key news of 2024 was the attraction of a larger volume of investments in the energy sector of Ukraine. The Danish government allocated a loan of 450 million euros for the completion of the second stage of the 386 MW wind power plant in the Mykolaiv region. Oschadbank also allocated 40 million euros for the construction of the Sokal wind power plant in the Lviv region by the company “Eco-Optima”.
It is also important that the legislation in the field of renewable energy sources should now be synchronized with the norms of the European Union. And this remains one of the main priorities of Ukraine, emphasized Andriy Konechenkov, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association. However, it is necessary to make changes to the legislation, which today simply slows down the market:
“It is very important to launch the mechanism of guarantees of origin not only in Ukraine, but also in the countries of the European Union. The problem of the debt of NPC Ukrenergo to the State Enterprise “Guaranteed Buyer” remains. As of December 31, 2024, the amount of debt amounted to 22.08 billion hryvnias. The State Enterprise “Guaranteed Buyer” settled with green electricity producers at the level of 79.6% for 2024.
At the end of December, the state regulator NKRKP adopted a transmission tariff for electricity. This was a very difficult decision, but it makes it possible not to accumulate new debts in 2025 and to repay existing ones as much as possible. While the debts are not repaid, the investment climate in Ukraine, unfortunately, is quite unstable.”
The catalyst for the development of solar energy was the power outages in the summer of 2024, believes Vladislav Sokolovsky, Chairman of the Board of the Solar Energy Association of Ukraine. The construction of solar power plants is supported by financial opportunities for entrepreneurs: state banks are working under the program “Affordable Loans 5-7-9%. ” In addition, last year the Decarbonization Fund was launched, which provides support to those who build solar power plants, he said.
“We see the interest of Western companies in our market, in particular in the energy industry, in solar about the segment. Investors are ready to build industrial solar power plants. But, of course, in wartime there are big risks. The National Commission for the Regulation of Energy and Power Generation and Energy Efficiency must adopt certain by-laws so that the investor can conclude an agreement and use his own money to build a plant for an enterprise or other consumer of electricity, which will subsequently bring income to the investor, and will provide the consumer with energy security and reduced electricity bills,” says Vladyslav Sokolovsky.
The job of our diplomats and energy specialists is to find a common language and agree, to prove that security is our common European business, – is convinced Andriy Myzovets, president of the Gas Traders of Ukraine association. We need to prepare for the next heating periods. And it is worth starting with the simplest thing – a work plan. And it cannot be without an understanding of the all-Ukrainian energy balance.
“In 2022, Europe was actively discussing the initiative of joint purchases of natural gas. Considering the turbulent political situation, it seems to me that this initiative should be revived and in the optimal time to understand how Ukraine can use it. I mean, if there is a possibility, by protecting our underground storage facilities with appropriate air defense means, to use them not only for our national needs, but also for the needs of Europe, this is a pretty good way to jointly address the issue of energy security,” Andrii Myzovets suggested and added: this year Europe will also face a serious challenge – replenishing natural storage reserves. Currently, they are only one third full (37%), while a year ago, on March 5, 2024, if we take March 5, 2024 – by 61%.
It is time to liberalize the energy industry, said Yaryna Skorokhod, co-chair of the Energy Committee of the European Business Association. The second issue is that we should not delay with certain regulatory decisions that allow the construction of generation. And the third factor is the need to change approaches. “We need to develop a comprehensive strategy for how we will prepare for the next heating season from the point of view of gas generation and cooperation with Europe. Although we do not really expect these prices to be favorable, low, that is, we understand that we will also compete for this resource,” the expert added.
For two years in a row, Ukraine has been increasing gas production. In 2023-2024, companies drilled a record number of wells even in difficult conditions, invested in the sector, maximized gas production and are not going to stop. After all, our own production is a priority for Ukraine, and it remains the basis for preparing for the next heating seasons. This was said by Yuriy Slazhnev, an analyst at the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine. Also, according to him, the key for the energy industry are the basic market needs that affect the further development and increase in production. These are security, stability of the rules of the game, clear fiscal policy and long-term market conditions for the private sector.
“This year, in particular, due to attacks on gas production, we will be forced to import gas, which has already been publicly discussed by both the Naftogaz group and the Ministry of Energy. But, in addition to next winter, there will still be a lot of OGP ahead. And our current steps, mechanisms, movements directly affect the balance that will be in the future. We need to prepare and rely, first of all, on our own capacities. They are the ones that will guarantee our energy and national security,” Yuriy Slazhnev emphasized.
In general, the talk show participants, having analyzed the challenges and problems faced by the energy industry in the winter, discussed the effectiveness of the measures taken and identified ways to improve the stability of the energy system, considered the prospects for the development of the energy industry under martial law and post-war recovery, and outlined tasks that require immediate resolution.
