10.04.2026
Attorney and Chairman of the Energy Law Committee at the UNAA, Oleksandr Trokhimets, presented a critical legal analysis of the Regulator’s status during the Energy Club panel discussion. He emphasized the necessity of bringing NEURC’s activities into alignment with constitutional norms and the actual state of energy markets.
Oleksandr Trokhimets noted that the concept of a state body’s absolute independence contradicts the foundations of administrative law. In his view, the Regulator must operate within a system of checks and balances of the executive branch.
“The word ‘independence’ literally hurt my ears. Because an independent body cannot exist. It is nonsense from a legal standpoint. The system of state power is built precisely on checks and balances. Creating a body that is independent of anything and anyone — in my opinion, such a thing is impossible,” the lawyer emphasized.
The speaker expressed his conviction that the quality of the Regulator’s work depends not only on laws but also on the professional resilience of the individuals who comprise it.
“The question of independence in decision-making is not even a question of legislative regulation. It is a question of character. A person in their position has the full set of those powers. The question is whether they are capable or incapable of exercising them. If a person yields to pressure, we can write anything in the law, but it won’t happen,” stressed Oleksandr Trokhimets.
The expert proposed shifting the focus of the discussion from the body’s structure to an analysis of the markets it is meant to regulate. State intervention must be targeted and well-founded.
“Perhaps we should take two steps back or to the side and look at the situation not through the prism of the regulator, but through the prism of the markets. What is state regulation? It is state intervention in the economic relationships of entities only in cases where it is necessary for the normal functioning of the market. When this intervention is not necessary, the state should not interfere,” the attorney explained.
Concluding his speech, Oleksandr Trokhimets pointed to the failure to achieve a market balance, which is NEURC’s primary duty under the law.
“The first article of the law states: their goal is to achieve balance in the markets. What is balance? It is when everyone works and everyone is satisfied, but in our case, everyone is equally dissatisfied. When debts keep growing, it means there is no balance. It means they are not performing their function,” the UNAA committee chairman concluded.
