Ukraine’s energy markets require considerable reforms to ensure their transparency and independence, strengthening energy security and paving the way for Ukraine’s integration with European markets. The Regulation on the Integrity and Transparency of the Electricity Wholesale Market (REMIT—EU Regulation 1227/2011) is an integral part of this reform.
The REMIT concept is new for Ukraine and requires new standards and rules of behavior for both market participants and the Regulator. To efficiently implement REMIT and exercise powers to detect and prevent market manipulations, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) staff recently received specialized training.
From March 18 to June 10, 2024, the USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) held the REMIT Training Course for the energy regulator staff to deepen their knowledge of REMIT, its essence, and its correct application. The European REMIT experts from Austria and Greece regulatory bodies were involved in the delivery of the three-module course. During the training, the participants obtained the theoretical and practical skills needed to implement the REMIT mechanisms in Ukraine. After successfully completing the course, 54 NEURC employees received certificates and will now be able to detect market manipulation and abuse efficiently.
The training delivered to NEURC by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Energy Security Project (ESP) aimed to enhance the regulator’s capacity to operationalize Ukraine’s new REMIT law. According to Kathleen Kirsch, the Deputy Director of USAID/Ukraine’s Office of Critical Infrastructure, an independent and efficient NEURC is of decisive importance for the effective implementation of REMIT and for ensuring transparency in Ukraine’s competitive electricity and gas markets.
“We help NEURC to enhance its capacity to implement REMIT, developing the human and institutional potential to enable the Regulator to exercise an efficient oversight of electricity and gas markets and to make them as transparent as possible,” Mike Trainor, the USAID ESP Chief of Party noted.
The training is important to building Ukraine’s readiness to join the EU. In addition, as a result of the successful implementation of REMIT, the prices in the electricity and natural gas markets will become competitive, and Ukrainian customers will be able to receive qualitative services at fair prices.