26.08.2025
Ukraine must unite around its economy and energy sector and protect its people, who are the greatest resource and highest value of any state, asserts Volodymyr Hromko — a Candidate of Juridical Sciences, member of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, head of the expert council of the “Ivano-Frankivsk Scientific Research Institute for Energy Efficiency Problems,” and director of “Ivano-Frankivsk Teploenergo” LLC.
Energy Club fully shares this opinion, which once again emphasizes that the Club, as the largest professional community in Ukraine, unites professionals in the energy sector.
Volodymyr Hromko is one such professional. His profound knowledge, considerable experience, and high level of expertise and authority all describe him. Volodymyr has repeatedly been a speaker at Energy Club forums, a guest on the “Big Interview” podcast, and a lecturer for Energy Club training courses, including “Distributed Generation: A Step Towards Ukraine’s Energy Independence” and “EnergyStart: Training for the Future.”
For a time, Volodymyr Hromko worked as the deputy director of the “Ligret” group of companies, which is engaged in the production, transportation, and supply of thermal energy, as well as electricity trading and the development of alternative energy in Ukraine.
Today, he is open to new job offers and the next steps in his career, and Energy Club recommends Volodymyr as a unique specialist in his field.
In an interview with the Energy Club media department, he spoke about his professional experience, key competencies, market trends, and strategic vision for the development of the Ukrainian energy community.
— Volodymyr, please tell us about your journey in the energy sector. Where did it all begin, and what key experience did you gain before becoming the deputy head of the “Ligret” company?
— First of all, I should say that I come from the city of energy workers – Burshtyn – and grew up in a family of energy professionals. My father worked at the Burshtyn TPP, rising from a mechanic to deputy director. So, despite being a lawyer by education, you can say with confidence that energy flows in my veins.
My experience in the energy sector began at “Ivano-Frankivsk Teploenergo” LLC, a company that held a key position in the heat supply of Ivano-Frankivsk. At the time I was appointed as its head, the enterprise required a restructuring of its management style and the establishment of close contacts with workers and line employees, which was necessitated by the challenges following the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation and the subsequent imposition of martial law in Ukraine.
It so happened that my appointment as the head of the company occurred in the seventh month of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, just before the start of the heating season. “The times were not to be envied,” however, thanks to God and the people, we managed to stabilize the situation and worthily overcome all the challenges the company faced. These included rolling blackouts, unforeseen boiler shutdowns, and the resulting ruptures in heating networks, as well as staffing problems due to mobilization measures. In short, there were more than enough trials, but despite everything, the company passed them with pride, became stronger, more structured, more coordinated in its activities, and even found additional financial reserves for repairs, purchasing generators, and raising the salaries of the employees we managed to retain.
I do not consider these achievements to be my own, as such results would have been impossible without the proper support of the entire team – from the mechanic to the management. It was the correct team building that made these results possible.
— Today, everyone is talking about distributed generation as the key to Ukraine’s energy resilience. “Ligret,” in particular, works with renewable energy producers. What is this process like? What are the main drivers and barriers?
— Regarding distributed generation, one must be quite cautious. It is worth remembering that distributed generation is not a panacea for the country as a whole. Based on today’s Ukrainian realities, distributed generation is a necessity for the country’s energy resilience. However, in my opinion, these processes must be under the close supervision of the state. Otherwise, we might get so carried away with distributing generation that every factory or large enterprise will generate its own electricity, and as a result, the unified energy system of Ukraine will become so unbalanced that stabilizing it in the future will be extremely difficult.
Such trends may occur, as we see the pace at which solar generation is developing in Ukraine. This is, of course, very good, but for the overall energy market of the country, it creates certain difficulties that may grow into a problem in the future. As is known, solar generation occurs during periods of solar activity, which are quite difficult to predict. Consequently, a situation arises where one day, during high solar insolation, factories meet their own electricity needs one hundred percent and do not draw any electricity from the unified energy grid at all, and it is impossible to predict the number of these kilowatts. And on another day, when there is not enough solar activity, the electricity withdrawal from the unified grid is at 80%. Thus, the issue of stabilizing the unified energy system with the help of flexible generation is quite problematic.
Currently, the state is taking appropriate measures, which are manifested in recommendations to install so-called industrial power banks alongside solar generation and other known methods, but all these measures must be implemented with the thought of preserving the unified centralized energy system of Ukraine.
Yes, the “Ligret” company is an active player in the renewable energy market, but its advantage is not just the installation of electricity generation from renewable sources, but a comprehensive approach and study of the impact of such generation on the overall energy system and ensuring the energy resilience of each facility connected to the consumption of such generation in critical moments.
— From a trader’s perspective, how is distributed generation changing the rules of the game in the electricity market? What new products, business models, and risks are emerging for such companies?
— The main risk for young companies like ours probably was, is, and will be the stability of payments for the electricity received. Late payments from consumers force the company to find additional funds to cover the deficit, which is sometimes extremely expensive. Therefore, the company takes all measures to encourage clients to pay for the received electricity on time. Quite often, such incentives result in both additional costs for the company and an additional workload for employees, but believe me, they are worth it.
— In your opinion, what are the primary steps the state (regulator, government) should take to stimulate the development of distributed generation not just as a backup power source, but as a full-fledged and profitable element of the market?
— It’s difficult to answer this question briefly. First of all, it should be said that the profitability of the electricity market primarily depends on the price of electricity. It is determined by the market, and the market, in turn, dictates supply and demand. Raising the price caps on electricity, in my opinion, should have a positive impact on the electricity market.
As for making distributed generation a full-fledged and profitable element of the market, it all depends on the cost of 1 kWh of such electricity. It is clear that there is always a demand for cheap electricity, especially in a market economy where the cost of electricity in manufactured goods can fluctuate up to 70%. Distributed generation, as such, cannot be cheap by definition, except, in my opinion, for electricity produced at mini-nuclear power plants. However, as of today, such mini-NPPs exist only in projects and calculations. As far as I know, the first such NPP is planned for launch in China. By the way, while we (I mean the governments of the European Union countries and our country) are debating the impact of nuclear generation on the environment, China, the aggressor country Russia, and some other Asian countries are implementing mini-NPPs on their territory as a source of cheap and stable electricity.
Regarding the first steps the state should take, it should be noted that they are already being taken, although somewhat hesitantly. Perhaps there are objective reasons for this; it’s hard to say when you don’t see the whole field of activity. However, locally, I can say: the state can certainly create appropriate conditions through preferential lending terms for both electricity producers and DSOs, and significantly simplify the licensing procedure, essentially reducing it to informing the state about such a business entity. And most importantly – interfere less in the economic activities of companies in the field of electricity production and distribution.
— Volodymyr, you have significant managerial and expert experience in trading and working with renewable energy sources. In what role or in which projects do you see yourself in the future? What tasks would be most interesting for you to solve now?
— Thank you for the question. It reminds me of the saying: “A poor soldier is one who does not want to become a general.” Of course, I would like to be useful to the state first and foremost. Frankly, it is painful to look at powerful state-owned companies that have enormous potential in the energy sector (production, distribution) but are declining or showing unprofitable activity. This is nonsense. The experience and skills gained in leadership positions in private companies are invaluable because that is where you work non-stop 24/7 and have the opportunity to feel the result of your work, which is primarily reflected in the amount of money.
The future belongs to energy. Distributed generation is an objectively determined phenomenon, so its development is inevitable. We should think about combining the development of distributed generation with thermal generation, with hydrogen generation, and combining the development of generation with agriculture, which, as a result, will make it possible to reduce the cost of the generated kWh.
— Could you highlight three key competencies that, in your opinion, would be most beneficial for a company?
— In my opinion, the key competencies of a modern company leader are professionalism, experience, and continuous professional development. Additionally, I would like to highlight one more competency – to love people. We should also not forget about culture. For the most part, by the term culture, we understand everything related to museums, theaters, and so on. However, the concept of culture is quite broad and covers almost all spheres of life.
At one time, Winston Churchill was presented with the budget of Great Britain for approval, where all expenditure items were listed. The first was military spending, the second – medicine, the third – education, and so on. And the last item in this budget was spending on culture. Winston Churchill sent this budget back for revision and asked for spending on culture to be made second after defense spending.
Therefore, the culture of communication, behavior, and work is extremely important for the development of a company as a whole. Unfortunately, not everyone understands this today, but in companies where leaders have understood the importance of this issue, performance indicators are growing every year, and it is almost impossible to poach specialists from these companies.
— Finally, what would you advise companies that are planning to develop in the direction of distributed generation or enter the trading market today?
— Do not be afraid. Just enter this market and calmly, without unnecessary fuss, do your job every day, and success will certainly come.
