Yurii Bondarenko on the Staffing Crisis, the New Energy System, and the Mission of Energy Club

Yurii Bondarenko is the head of Enpaselectro LLC, a universal engineering company with over 31 years of experience in engineering development and services for energy facilities, both in Ukraine and abroad. The company operates in the segments of hydropower, energy efficiency, consulting, equipment and technology, and solar energy. Since 2021, Enpaselectro LLC has been a member of Energy Club.

Юрій Бондаренко

Yurii is also the chairman of the NGO “Scientific and Technical Union of Power Engineers and Electrical Engineers of Ukraine,” the first vice president and chairman of the technical committee of the Ukrainian National Committee CIGRE, and the vice president of the “Hydropower of Ukraine” Association. All these organizations shape technical policy in the energy sector.

“Information on all areas of energy development and new technologies must be voiced, and there must be a platform for such a discussion. Energy Club fulfills this mission – it is a platform where you can frankly, comprehensively, with the participation of experts of various levels, discuss topics relevant to the energy sector of Ukraine. Therefore, Energy Club is a truly effective media platform for communication, knowledge and experience exchange,” says Yurii Bondarenko.

Can you provide specific results of public discussions and other Energy Club events?

“We need to clearly define the tasks of Energy Club. If it is a platform for exchanging opinions, knowledge, and generating new ideas, then this work is being done, and its result is that many speakers at the level of deputy ministers, heads of enterprises, and energy companies participate in the events. We see this result. But solving the problematic issues that are voiced in Energy Club is another mechanism. And it requires communication and support from other organizations, such as the Union of Energy Engineers of Ukraine. This should be done by experts not only in front of the microphone but also practically, at the level of the relevant ministry, NEURC, and other institutions. And today, there is a lack of this support, especially financial support. It is necessary to support intellectuals who can form the direction of energy development, develop projects, and regulatory documents. Today, this is a problem for the energy sector of Ukraine because donors help with equipment, but no one wants to invest in intellect.

There is a staffing crisis in the Ukrainian energy sector, and during the discussion of this problem in Energy Club, I expressed my opinion: the Ministry of Education once received a program of humanitarization at the expense of Soros Foundation, World Bank, and other funds. What did this lead to? The number of places and training in technical areas was reduced in institutes, and now the whole country is facing an acute shortage of specialists for the restoration of the energy sector. There are very few technocrats left, and we must fight to increase their number. Since Energy Club raised this topic, it is necessary to convey information to the Ministry of Economy and the National Security and Defense Council so that the Ministry of Education revises its approaches to technical specialties for the energy sector. This will be a real result, not just a discussion of why we have no engineers.”

What topics, in your opinion, still need discussion and resolution at the state level?

“There are many of them. In just 25 years of the 21st century, we have written several strategic energy development programs. But they are not being implemented. It is clear that this is now due to the state of war. We must discuss professionally why our country’s developments are not being implemented. Not emotionally, looking for those to blame, as is done in the Verkhovna Rada, but systematically, analyzing the areas, technologies, and industrial development. Energy Club can raise such topics from the point of view of what we need for the restoration and development of the energy sector.”

But representatives of the legislative and executive authorities participate in the events organized by Energy Club. So they hear about the problems of energy engineers and their needs.

“The implementation mechanism is based on a systematic approach. Unfortunately, some policy changes were approached from a populist position. Therefore, there are results that are painful to correct. We can highlight problematic issues, but no one will rush to implement these recommendations from Energy Club members; instead, they will implement initiatives from government structures – the National Security and Defense Council, the Presidential Office, and the Cabinet of Ministers. Therefore, it’s all complicated.

According to sociological research, only 2.4% of high school graduates want to study in technical universities and obtain an engineering specialty. What kind of systematic approach is this? This is what we should be talking about, and it would be good if the Cabinet of Ministers, the Presidential Office, and the NEURC hear us.

We are doing a great job – we need to create a new energy system because this one is destroyed. And this should be done not by foreign experts who give money and have to, but primarily by our Ukrainian specialists who know how the energy system is built and how it should be restored. We need to restore both the school and the institution of engineers. This is painstaking daily work.”