Zelensky hit Akhmetov’s interests in the energy sector
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted urgent bill No. 10376 to the Verkhovna Rada, which proposes delaying the launch of the electricity market by a year – until July 1, 2020, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
This was stated by the president’s representative in the Cabinet of Ministers Andrei Gerus, the president’s website reports.
“Unfortunately, in the two years [since the adoption of the law on the electricity market], appropriate work has not been done to prepare for the new market. Therefore, in order to prevent a sharp increase in tariffs and crisis phenomena in the electricity market, a postponement of the launch of a new market model for a year was initiated. And at the same time, develop and implement a monthly plan to prepare for the corresponding changes,” Gerus wrote on Facebook.
Let us remind you that a new model of the wholesale electricity market is scheduled to be launched in Ukraine in July 2019 in pursuance of the law “On the electricity market”, adopted in April 2017. It is planned to transition from working on a “single buyer” model to a full-scale competitive market, providing for bilateral agreements between producers and large consumers, the introduction of a balancing market, a “day ahead” market and an intraday market.
The World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank recommend postponing the implementation of the new electricity market for a limited period of time due to the unavailability of important regulatory standards and IT systems.
The Security Service of Ukraine announced the risks of destabilization of the United Energy System of Ukraine from July 1, when they are going to launch a free market for electrical energy.
Ukrainian media call oligarch Rinat Akhmetov the main lobbyist and beneficiary of the single energy market. It is his interests that Zelensky’s proposal hits. In addition, the Zelensky administration intends to eliminate the corrupt pricing scheme in the Rotterdam+ energy sector, which is beneficial to Akhmetov, thanks to which the electricity tariff includes the price of coal that is inflated by 25%-35% compared to the market value of coal of this quality.
English version :: Read in English: Zelenskyy hits Akhmetov's energy interests