27.05.2025
On June 12, the forum “Consumer-driven Energy System: The Voice of Industry for Energy Security and Technological Development” will take place in Kyiv. The event, organized by Energy Club, aims to establish a direct dialogue between energy companies and industrialists, whose effective work directly depends on stable, affordable, and high-quality energy supply.
The forum’s goal is to hear directly from consumers about their needs, problems, and vision for optimizing the Ukrainian energy sector. After all, energy security is not just about energy extraction and transmission, but also about how energy works for those who consume it.
One of the partners of the “Consumer-driven Energy System: The Voice of Industry for Energy Security and Technological Development” forum is Energy Club member PJSC “ODESKY CABLE PLANT “ODESKABEL” – Ukraine’s largest producer of cable and wire products.
Oleksandr Symonov, Marketing and Sales Director of PJSC “Odeskabel,” shared his vision of the upcoming forum’s relevance, the importance of dialogue between the energy sector and industrial consumers, expectations from the event, and proposals for sustainable energy system development.
– Why did PJSC “Odeskabel” decide to support the forum and become its partner? What specifically attracted you to the idea of this event?
– PJSC “Odeskabel” has been a member of Energy Club since 2019. The company always supports innovative ideas of the business community aimed at establishing a dialogue between producers, suppliers, and consumers. Energy Club is a professional association, so, considering the theme of the forum “Consumer-driven Energy System: The Voice of Industry for Energy Security and Technological Development,” it is impossible to stay away from such a relevant event.
– In the turbulent conditions caused by geopolitical and economic challenges, how do you assess the relevance and timeliness of holding such a forum for Ukraine?
– Of course, many things today seem “untimely” and are put off until later. However, the energy and industrial markets continue to operate under all conditions, despite the turbulence. And such meetings help to make necessary, balanced decisions and start work today that will soon yield results. In any case, it is better than waiting for the situation in the country to stabilize. Therefore, the forum’s relevance is undoubted and clear to everyone involved in the energy sector – both suppliers and recipients of services.
– How important, in your opinion, is the dialogue between the energy sector and industrial consumers today?
– No activity is possible without dialogue. In every company, at every enterprise, it is constant, but at such forums, it becomes open and provides opportunities to influence important decisions or define areas of activity taking into account experience – both one’s own, and partners’, and generally everyone who works in this sector of the economy.
– What is the main idea or message your company will present at the forum? What do you plan to convey to the participants?
– We are a kind of connecting link: on the one hand, we are a supplier of products to energy companies, and on the other hand, a recipient of services. The lion’s share of our product cost is the cost of electricity. Therefore, like any industrial enterprise, we face problems of quality and reliability of supply. Taking into account our own experience of cooperation with Ukrainian and European companies, as well as our vision, the main idea we promote is standardization, which will allow for strategic reserves at enterprises – suppliers of cable and wire products and services, that is, to reduce the current range of nomenclature. We plan to present this proposal at the forum. We supply products to companies in the Baltic countries and see how producers and suppliers work in their markets, what nomenclature exists there. Many issues seem to be on the surface, but there is constantly no time to address them.
– What results do you expect from the forum?
– First of all, we expect the establishment of a sustainable dialogue and cooperation, so that the forum does not become the only event in which we participated and told about our pain. Ukraine’s energy system is changing incredibly fast. Someone installs cogeneration units, someone solar power plants, and this affects the system as a whole. Much depends on the regulator. Managing these processes is not easy, we all understand that. But ultimately, the deterioration of quality and the absence of electricity for industrial enterprises leads to significant economic losses. In our case: if we produce medium voltage cable, power fluctuations do not allow us to continue working, we have to stop the process and simply throw away part of the materials. And the further we go, the more sensitive equipment becomes to the quality of electricity. Without systematic work in this direction, there can be no industrial growth, and therefore no economic stability in the country. Stable electricity supply is a basic need for economic development.
– What innovative approaches or technologies is PJSC “Odeskabel” implementing to improve energy security and efficiency?
– Mostly these are local measures: we switched from gas heating to solid fuel, we are installing solar generation, we are coordinating issues regarding a cogeneration unit. Due to some peculiarities, these issues cannot be solved quickly and easily.
– In your opinion, what are the most important steps to be taken to ensure stable and efficient energy supply for Ukrainian industry?
– I am confident that today all participants in the energy market are doing their utmost to ensure stable operation. Without electricity, there will be no market. Unfortunately, there is no simple recipe. Together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and defense forces, we are resisting the enemy. We must continue to make efforts, exchange professional information aimed at market stability, which will allow us to solve problems quickly and efficiently. From our own experience of cooperation with the EU in the field of renewable energy, we see how quickly everything changes, there are many new solutions for organizing processes, and this is a driver for the economy. In my opinion, European experience will allow us to go through some stages of development, bypassing previous ones, so information exchange is the key to the sustainable development of the energy system.
