The USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) highly appreciates the entry into force of the long-awaited Law No. 3141 on Amending Certain Laws of Ukraine for Prevention of Abuses in Wholesale Energy Markets (previously known as Bill No. 5322), which was adopted by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on June 10, signed by the President on June 30 and published on the next day, on July 1.
Law No. 3141 aims to transpose and effectively implement in Ukraine the basic provisions of the EU Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT) as further adapted and adopted by the Energy Community. Law No. 3141 is crucial for the efficient operation and further sustainable development of the country’s liberalized markets in electricity and natural gas. It will essentially benefit both fair energy market players and energy consumers in Ukraine by strengthening the conditions for transparency and empowering the National Regulatory Authority (NEURC) to determine, diagnose, and investigate cases of market abuse and undertake effective measures to prevent such abusive behavior.
The entry into force of Law No. 3141 is an effective demonstration of Ukraine’s adherence to its commitments to the European partners under the EU Association Agreement and the Energy Community Treaty, which is of critical importance in anticipating the country’s European integration processes.
Considering Ukraine’s European integration aspirations and the imminent even closer approximation of the country’s legislative framework to the EU acquis, USAID ESP takes this opportunity to reiterate its experts’ opinion that Law No. 3141 should be further strengthened in the nearest future and the sooner, the better. This particularly concerns the following:
- enhancing powers of the National Regulatory Authority (NEURC),
- adjusting roles and responsibilities of market players, persons professionally arranging transactions (PPATs), and other persons engaged in trading in wholesale energy products,
- introducing responsibility for the completeness, accuracy and timely submission of market and fundamental data subject to reporting and of insider information subject to disclosure, as well as responsibility for appropriate treatment of collected data and professional secrecy,
- tailoring the system of sanctions and penalties, including the ones for both legal and physical persons, and assuming the loss or damage compensation, as well as enabling preventive measures, and primarily, ability to adjust market and trading rules.
Bearing in mind the European Commission’s proposal to amend its REMIT regulation, which was finalized and published in mid-March and will likely be adopted this year, USAID ESP is hopeful that there will be another opportunity to further improve Law No. 3141. USAID ESP experts are ready to assist the Parliament and the Government of Ukraine in implementing this task.