24.02.2026
During the “Energy Freedom” talk show, Yuriy Prodan, former Minister of Energy and former head of the NERC, revealed the behind-the-scenes reasons for the current attempts to reset the Regulator. He described how he and Ivan Plachkov were “weeded out” during the competition, recalled the fates of previous Commission heads — Demchyshyn and Vovk — and explained why the NERC was much more independent during Leonid Kuchma’s presidency.
According to Yuriy Prodan, the latest legislative initiative to reset the NEURC arose not for the sake of European reforms, but due to a trivial conflict between the Regulator and the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada.
“Why did the issue of a reset arise all of a sudden? Mr. Gerus did not like that the Regulator decided to increase price caps when the Ministry of Energy requested it to ensure the necessary import of electricity during a difficult hour. They didn’t consult him, slightly violated the procedure,” the former minister explained.
He also added that today’s energy market during the war is a quasi-market without surplus or competition, where traders operate who are essentially speculators: “Bought cheap — sold dearer. And everyone holds on to this mechanism, although in war conditions, it would be worth considering a state monopoly.”
Prodan harshly criticized the current system for selecting NEURC members through multi-stage commissions (when delegates from the VRU, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Ministry of Economy first form a commission, which then selects two candidates, and the Cabinet appoints one). He called it a profanation that allows for evading responsibility.
He provided a telling example of how he himself tried to pass this competition.
“Ivan Plachkov and I applied to be selected for the commission that would appoint NEURC members. I have spent my whole life in energy: I was the chairman of NERC, first deputy minister, and headed the ‘Energorynok’ state enterprise. And do you know who was chosen? I was placed in 6th or 7th place, Plachkov somewhere nearby. Instead, representatives of consulting structures like KPMG were selected. That is how this process happens,” Prodan shared the insight.
Instead, the former minister proposes a simple and accountable mechanism: prescribe strict professional requirements in the law (work in senior positions in energy, integrity) and grant the right to select and appoint Commission members entirely to the Cabinet of Ministers, so the Government bears direct political responsibility for it.
Paradoxically, Yuriy Prodan believes that in the early 2000s, the Regulator had much more agency than it does now. At that time, the Commission consisted of people with serious state backgrounds who could defend their positions.
“Heavy discussions were held at the commission meetings. Deputy Prime Minister Haiduk, head of Energoatom Tulub, Minister Yermilov would come — and we argued about whether to raise the tariff or not. But such things as the deputy head of the Office of the President giving instructions to the Commission to do something, and officially, according to the protocol — that never happened! Even Kuchma never called me in my life,” Yuriy Prodan emphasized.
Finally, the former minister reminded what the lack of real institutional protection and fear of rotation leads to. He cited the example of Volodymyr Demchyshyn, who, as head of the NEURC, categorically refused to raise the price of coal against the position of Prodan (who was then minister), yet quickly changed his approach as soon as he himself headed the Ministry of Energy.
Prodan also mentioned the next head, Dmytro Vovk, and the “Rotterdam+” formula, ironically noting that today both of these former heads of the Regulator are on the run, which vividly testifies to the quality of their “independence.”
