The main directions of the Committee's work during the ninth session were the creation and/or improvement of the legislative framework for: regulating relations in the natural gas, oil and electricity markets, in the areas of heat and hot water supply under martial law; adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the provisions of EU law, regulatory support for the implementation of the development goals of the fuel and energy sector of Ukraine, taking into account the obligations under international treaties, as well as the requirements of European energy legislation.
In 2023, a number of laws were adopted, including:
The Law on Minimum Oil and Oil Products Reserves (No. 9024-d).
The Law was adopted with the aim of enhancing the energy security of the state and ensuring continuous supply of oil and oil products to the domestic market of Ukraine in the event of a crisis on the oil and oil products market by implementing the requirements of Council Directive 2009/119/EC, which provides for the establishment of minimum stocks equal to 90 days of average daily net imports or 61 days of average daily consumption, whichever is higher.
The law defines the legal, organizational and economic basis for the creation and operation of the system of minimum reserves of oil and oil products in Ukraine and regulates relations in this area. The Law specifies the functions and powers of state control bodies, the administrator of the reporting system, the procedure for financing the functioning of the system of minimum reserves of oil and petroleum products, updates the concept of a crisis situation on the market of oil and petroleum products, its levels, and establishes clear powers of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the central executive body, which ensures the formation and implementation of state policy in the fuel and energy complex; the issue of interdepartmental coordination was clarified, the procedure for creation, storage, replacement of minimum reserves of oil and petroleum products was clarified.
The Law "On Optimisation of the Ownership Structure of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine" (Reg. No. 9311-1-d).
The Law is aimed at introducing a proper corporate governance system for the gas transmission system operator of Ukraine, as well as ensuring proper implementation by Ukraine of the Memorandum of Understanding dated 16 January 2023 concluded between Ukraine and the European Union and the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies dated 24 March 2023 concluded between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund.
The Law clarifies certain provisions regarding the collegial type of the executive body (directorate) and provides that the decision to amend the charter (new version of the charter) of the operator is made following consultations with the NEURC and obtaining a mandatory opinion of the Energy Community Secretariat.
The Law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Restoration and Green Transformation of the Energy System of Ukraine" (No. 9011-d).
The Law is aimed at improving the conditions for supporting the production of electricity from alternative energy sources by consumer generating units, taking into account the best international practices, which will help reduce the amount of subsidies at the expense of other consumers.
In particular, the following were introduced
- an effective mechanism for issuing, using and terminating guarantees of origin for electricity generated from renewable energy sources;
- the possibility for business entities to leave the balancing group of the guaranteed buyer with the possibility of compensation for the difference in the cost of electricity between the feed-in tariff and the market price;
- the possibility of completing the construction and commissioning by the end of 2023 of facilities that plan to produce electricity at the "green tariff" from wind energy.
The Law "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Prevention of Misuse in Wholesale Energy Markets".
The Law aims to improve the legislative and regulatory environment of the energy sector of Ukraine by harmonising it with the legal framework and best practices of the European Union in terms of ensuring the integrity and transparency of the wholesale energy market (Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of 25 October 2011 on the integrity and transparency of the wholesale energy market – REMIT) by prohibiting and defining measures to prevent, detect and combat misuse in the wholesale energy markets (in particular The Law creates prerequisites for the stable functioning of the Ukrainian energy system and its synchronisation to the interconnection of the energy systems of the EU Member States ENTSO-E.
The Law "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Combined Heat and Power Production (Cogeneration) and Use of Waste Energy Potential" regarding the Development of Highly Efficient Cogeneration" (Reg. No. 4527).
The Law is aimed at creating conditions for the development of high-efficiency cogeneration in Ukraine in compliance with the principles and provisions of the European Union legislation, which will ultimately ensure an increase in fuel efficiency and a reduction in natural gas consumption in public production.
The implementation of the Law's provisions ensures:
- reorganisation of existing heat generating facilities into highly efficient combined heat and power plants and economic incentives for the use of highly efficient cogeneration units at enterprises regardless of ownership and industry;
- qualification of a cogeneration unit by introducing a condition that qualified cogeneration units must be highly efficient cogeneration units, i.e., provide primary energy savings of at least 10% through combined heat and power production compared to the benchmark efficiency values for separate production of electricity and heat;
- circulation of guarantees of origin of electricity produced on the basis of the agreed efficiency of the benchmark values of a high-efficiency cogeneration unit.
The Law of Ukraine "On Joint Stock Company National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom" (Reg. No. 8067).
The law defines the procedure for the establishment and operation of the joint-stock company National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom, 100% of which is owned by the state, and establishes the procedure for the formation of the company's authorised capital, the company's operation after establishment, restrictions related to ensuring the preservation of the state's corporate rights, property of nuclear power plants, nuclear materials and facilities for radioactive waste management, exclusively by the company, to ensure economic security and protection of the state. The founder of the company is the state represented by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which decides on the establishment of the company and manages the state corporate rights of the company. The Law provides that the shares in a company acquired by the state as a result of the company's establishment are not subject to privatisation.
The Law of Ukraine "On Certain Issues of Use of Vehicles Equipped with Electric Engines and Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Overcoming Fuel Dependence and Development of Electric Charging Infrastructure and Electric Vehicles" (Reg. No. 8172).
The Law was developed to implement certain provisions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand, Directive 2009/33/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of clean and energy efficient vehicles for road transport, Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels and is intended to stimulate the use of vehicles equipped with electric motors to implement the National Transport Strategy of Ukraine until 2030.
The implementation of the Law is aimed at:
- development of electric vehicles and the infrastructure of electric vehicle charging stations
-simplifying the procedure for connecting charging stations to power grids
-making decisions on the provision of vehicle storage facilities in the relevant territory with electric vehicle charging stations;
- taking into account the need to provide at least 50% of the parking and storage spaces for vehicles equipped with electric motors with electric vehicle charging stations in the technical conditions for new construction of multi-storey residential buildings.
In 2023, the Committee effectively carried out its legislative, organisational and control functions, focusing primarily on the regulation of certain relations in the electricity markets (special attention was paid to the regulation of relations between entities generating electricity from renewable energy sources), oil products, and natural gas under martial law. In the area of district heating and hot water supply, special attention is paid to the legal regulation of energy efficiency measures to improve the energy efficiency of public utilities. Regulatory and legal support for the implementation of the development goals of the Ukrainian fuel and energy sector was carried out taking into account the obligations stipulated by international treaties, as well as the requirements of European energy legislation and the adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the provisions of EU law.
It should be noted that the adoption of the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Prevention of Abuse in Wholesale Energy Markets", which aims to implement Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT), is the most significant achievement of the Committee in the IX convocation.
The implementation of the REMIT Regulation will facilitate the integration of the Ukrainian and European markets (in particular in terms of commercial transactions), which is a key component of energy security, promote European confidence in the transparent functioning of the Ukrainian energy market and create the necessary competitive conditions for participants in the Ukrainian and EU markets.