NERC must remove artificial barriers to electricity imports - expert.

Import and free trade in the energy market are hindered by artificial price limitations on electricity. This opinion was expressed by the Vice President for Energy of the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Ukraine), Oleksandr Trokhymets.

'I always ask myself the question, why do we keep returning to price caps again and again,' - noted Trokhymets during a meeting of the National Commission for State Regulation in the Spheres of Energy and Public Utilities.

According to the expert, the price caps introduced as a temporary measure in 2019 have lost their relevance after five years of market operation.

'We have been working in the market for 5 years, and it is quite clear that the price caps have outlived their function,' - emphasized Trokhymets.

He explained that the limitations lead to artificial barriers to electricity imports:

'Price caps create artificial restrictions for imported electricity, as our price caps are lower than the cost of electricity that can be purchased.'

Trokhymets also pointed out the ineffective use of emergency assistance instead of imports:

'Instead of using the import tool, we are using the emergency assistance tool, which is much more expensive and leads to financial losses for Ukrenergo.'

The expert called for a clear definition of the direction of the development of Ukraine's energy market:

'We need to determine what kind of market we have - regulated or free, and how we are moving forward. Are we integrating into the European market in terms of price or not, and are we continuing to engage in populist things,' - he stated.

It is recalled that at the meeting on December 4, the National Commission began the procedure for reviewing the ceiling prices in the energy market. Members of the energy committee of the Council urged NERC members to immediately abolish price caps to unblock imports and eliminate the electricity deficit.