13.05.2026
On May 11, in Kyiv, Energy Club held a professional discussion dedicated to one of the most acute problems of the Ukrainian energy market – the crisis in public electricity procurement, where today there is not just legal uncertainty, but a problem of distrust in the predictability of state institutional rules.
The forum was organized by the Energy Club business community.
Viktoriia Hryb, Member of the Parliament of Ukraine, Head of the Subcommittee on Energy Security, and member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Utilities Services, was among the MPs who worked on amendments to the law.
In her speech at the forum, she focused on systemic problems in public electricity procurement that affect the stability of the energy market and public administration, and their consequences for the state’s energy security.
Viktoriia Hryb dwelled on the work on changes to the legislation on public procurement. She recalled that she is one of the MPs who worked on clarifying the norms to eliminate legal conflicts that arose after judicial practice.
At the same time, she critically assessed the delay in adopting the new draft law.
“I am submitting amendments to these laws. And the fact that the adoption of the law on public procurement failed is incomprehensible to me. Perhaps someone had their own interests, and that’s why it wasn’t supported,” the MP said.
She is convinced that the adoption of changes could partially relieve the tension in court disputes, but political will remains insufficient.
One of the key points of the speech was the expansion of the procurement problem to the level of national security. According to Viktoriia Hryb, the situation already affects not only the market but the resilience of the state as a whole.
“This is no longer a matter of market functioning — it is a matter of energy security. And energy security is a matter of state security,” she emphasized.
The MP warned that excessive regulation and complex bureaucratic mechanisms could lead to energy companies refusing to work with the state and municipal sectors.
“We may find ourselves in a situation where it will be easier for companies to sell electricity to other market segments than to work with the state and communities,” she noted.
Viktoriia Hryb also drew attention to the consequences for local self-government and utility companies, in particular, district heating companies, which are already operating in difficult conditions. She emphasized that excessive regulation and constant audits of procurement could actually paralyze the sector’s work.
“If we constantly set frameworks that neither market participants, nor local authorities, nor the state can fulfill, we will simply drive ourselves into a dead end,” the MP said.
Viktoriia Hryb dedicated a separate part of her speech to the role of the judicial system and the interpretation of legislation. She highlighted the problem of different approaches to official clarifications from state bodies.
“Why are the explanations of the Ministry of Economy not taken into account by the courts, while other state bodies are? This is a question to which there is no logical answer,” she noted.
According to her, it is necessary to legislatively consolidate the role of the authorized body so that its clarifications have a mandatory or at least decisive character for judicial practice.
Viktoriia Hryb’s speech at the Energy Club discussion outlined a deeper problem than just the imperfection of procurement legislation. It is about a systemic loss of predictability in state policy, which directly affects the energy market, investment attractiveness, and the stability of critical infrastructure.
In fact, the MP summarized the main risk: if the rules of the game remain unstable and their interpretation inconsistent, the state gradually loses the trust of key market participants. And this is no longer a legal problem, but a question of the Ukrainian energy system’s ability to function during the war and after it.
