How energy companies should talk to society: key points from Kateryna Ivanus' lecture

27.06.2025

As part of the Energy Club educational course “Communications and Interaction in Energy”, a lecture on the topic “Public Opinion and Energy” was held.

The speaker was Kateryna Ivanus, founder of the Kateryna Ivanus PR&media consulting agency.

Kateryna Ivanus

The main thesis of the lecture is that when society does not understand what is happening in the energy sector, it generates fear, anger, and accusations. To avoid this, companies need to understand the real reasons for citizens’ concerns and work proactively with them.

The lecture highlighted four key sources of emotional stress:

1. Tariffs: People demand not just numbers, but justification, predictability and a clear connection between price and quality of services.

2. Reliability of supply: Complaints arise from a sense of injustice when one house has electricity and another does not. Society expects transparent schedules and a clear logic for disconnections.

3. Transparency of companies: There is widespread skepticism and the question “where does the money go?”, which creates a need for reporting and independent control.

4. Quality of service: Consumers expect not only a technical solution, but also respect and effective communication in response to their requests.

The expert emphasized that the information space around the energy sector is saturated with manipulative narratives that undermine trust in the entire industry. Among them:

• “The authorities are selectively turning off the electricity.”
• “Ukraine exports electricity, but people are being turned off.”
• “All energy companies are corrupt.”

Such fakes lead to an escalation of anxiety, disruption of communication campaigns, and a decrease in trust in the state and international partners.

Kateryna Ivanus presented specific tools and principles for building trust:

• Talk about values, not topics: Focus not on “increasing tariffs,” but on “investments so that you don’t lose power.”
• Explain in plain language: Instead of terms like “tariff grid,” use understandable metaphors: “An old pipe is like a leaky pocket. No matter how much you pay, you lose money.”
• Explain instead of justifying: Not “we have to raise tariffs,” but “we are currently underpaying for the infrastructure that should work for you.”
• Be honest: Openly acknowledge the complexity of the topic and be ready to answer uncomfortable questions.

The speaker also provided examples of successful communication cases from Ukrainian and international companies, such as Ukrenergo, National Grid (Great Britain), and Fingrid (Finland), which demonstrate the effectiveness of proactive and honest communication in crisis situations.

About the speaker:

Kateryna Ivanus is the founder and CEO of Kateryna Ivanus PR&Media Consulting. The agency specializes in building reputation for state-owned enterprises, businesses and investors in Ukraine and Europe, working in the areas of media relations, GR, investment and international relations, as well as anti-crisis communications.

About the training course:

The course “Communications and Interaction in Energy: Strategies for PR, Marketing, GR and Lobbying in Ukraine” from Energy Club lasts 12 weeks and is designed to strengthen the communication capabilities of energy sector companies. It offers an integrated approach to building strategies that help strengthen stakeholder trust and support business goals.