A new Strategic Advisory Group began its work in Ukraine with an aim to finalize the draft law No. 2966 on energy regulator, as Olena Pavlenko, DiXi Group think tank President, told during the press briefing held in the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.
A new Strategic Advisory Group began its work in Ukraine with an aim to finalize the draft law No. 2966 on energy regulator, as Olena Pavlenko, DiXi Group think tank President, told during the press briefing held in the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.
“When we play football, it is important to know how the arbitrator works. The higher stakes in this game, the more attention is paid to the level of professionalism of the arbitrator. Energy market as the market of gas, electricity and utilities is the game with extremely high stakes because it is related to safety of people. And the arbitrator, who is the judge who must keep track of all the players in this field, certainly should be as professional, independent and impartial as possible”, said Olena Pavlenko.
This Strategic Advisory Group is composed of representatives of interested factions of the Verkhovna Rada, international associations of regulators, Energy Community Groups, the European Commission support groups for Ukraine, embassies as well as the Ukrainian experts in the field of energy and regulations.
Members of parliament, who are the Group members, agreed that the work on this draft law should be depoliticized, because too much politics would only hurt this future legislative instrument and, therefore, the future work of the regulator.
“There is a gas market, there is an electricity market, there is a huge market of local municipal energy. If there is no middle part in this triangle, i.e. an independent and professional regulator, the whole model of the energy sector in Ukraine would not work”, said Olexandr Dombrovsky, Member of Parliament of Ukraine (Bloc of Petro Poroshenko), first deputy chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Fuel, Energy, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety, coordinator of inter-faction group “For Energy Independence”.
“When we work on the law on the national regulator, it is very important to concentrate on how the rules of activity of this body will be practiced. Because these are fundamental things: rules, under which the regulator operates, as well as transparency and openness of its activities and the mechanisms of appeal against its decisions by all market participants: customers, monopolists and the state, in case if questions arise. In the draft law which became the basis for our discussion these issues were not clarified”, said MP Alyona Babak (Self-Help), deputy chairperson of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Construction, Urban Development and Utilities.
“It’s a pity that such professional discussion that is going on now, was not existent when this draft law only came out of the Cabinet of Ministers. Members of Parliament were slightly excluded from the process of drafting of this law. And now, taking into account the results of the group work, I can say that I have no doubts that we are going to receive a really professional document”, said Olexiy Ryabchin, MP (faction of All-Ukrainian Union “Fatherland”), member of the Committee on Fuel, Energy, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety.
“The energy sector is certainly the most corrupt one: it generates large sums and a great desire to use them on the level of shadow schemes. Without adoption of an adequate law on a truly independent regulator all other reform laws that regulate or will regulate the markets of gas, electricity, and energy tariffs, will remain partial solutions. The adoption of this law will be a real blow to corruption in this sector. Hopefully the creation of the Strategic Advisory Group with the help of the International Renaissance Foundation will unite the best Ukrainian and international experts as well as MPs concerned to enable the Rada to adopt necessary changes to the law on the regulator, said Evgen Bystritsky, executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The result of the work of the Strategic Advisory Group will be a list of “bottlenecks” of the draft law and relevant amendments proposals. In the long run the creation of the regulatory framework for introduction of an independent regulator will ensure the effective regulation of energy markets, creating clear and understandable rules for market players as well as their confidence and that of end users.
Contacts: Victoria Torop, DiXi Group, vi.kycja@gmail.com
