On April 09th, 2024, the UWEA Secretariat, along with numerous of its member companies, participated in the second post-mediation meeting initiated by the Energy Community Secretariat. The meeting was held following the Memorandum of Understanding for the Resolution of Problematic Issues in the Renewable Energy Industry of Ukraine signed in 2020 by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, NEURC, NPC “Ukrenergo”, and RE investors. The second post-mediation talks brought together a wide range of national RES market players, including representatives of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, the SE Guaranteed Buyer, NEURC, industry associations, and “green” producers. The meeting was chaired by Dirk Buschle, Deputy Director of the Energy Community Secretariat.
Through discussing current RE market problems and challenges caused by the full-scale russian invasion, the post-mediation process intends to help restoring trust and dialogue among the key actors. Thus, the second meeting was dedicated to the following issues:
- The role of RES technologies in the Government Plan for Ukraine Facility and the draft National Energy and Climate Plan of Ukraine for 2025-2030;
- The activity of international financial institutions in the Ukrainian RE market;
- The effectiveness of the reforms implemented in Ukraine’s wholesale electricity market, namely the reform of PSO mechanism, cPPA, and GOs;
- The national RES market export opportunities;
- Bankability of existing and future RES projects;
- Improvement of corporate governance of the SE Guaranteed Buyer, etc.
Special attention was paid to a new study on the reconstruction of the renewable energy sector in Ukraine, conducted by the Energy Community Secretariat. “Despite finishing the mediation process in late 2020, there are still some problems and challenges in the Ukrainian electricity market that need to be resolved not only for its sustainability but also for its integration into the European market environment. So, the post-mediation process intends to address these issues by developing options for their resolution with the involvement of all relevant state & business stakeholders. What we need to prepare for today is a renaissance of renewable energy in Ukraine,” noted Dirk Buschle opening the meeting.
UWEA member companies have spoken about the need for industry legislation to be invariable and predictable, which was also emphasized in a separate letter sent to the Energy Community Secretariat on the eve of the meeting. The representatives of UWEA’s member companies drew the attention of the Energy Community to such issues as debts in the electricity market and the lack of incentives for RES producers to move from the feed-in tariff to the feed-in premium. The parties discussed the current legislative gaps that prevent efficient implementation of corporate PPAs and “green” auctions and proposed solutions. Market participants also expressed a negative attitude towards the proposed surcharge initiative aiming at separating costs related to public service obligations namely, an increase of RES in electricity production, from the electricity transmission tariff, which is one of the financial sources of payment for the purchased electricity under the “green” tariff by the SE Guaranteed Buyer.
UWEA expresses its gratitude to the Energy Community Secretariat for initiating the post-mediation process and ensuring a dialogue between market players as well as expresses its hope for the prompt and speedy settlement of existing challenges in the market.
