Secretariat assesses the governance of the Ukrainian energy regulator NEURC as its responsibilities expand   

Following a formal request from the National Energy and Regulatory Commission (NEURC), the Secretariat prepared a report on NEURC’s independence and governance framework on the basis of the Energy Community acquis. This follows up on similar reports issued by the Secretariat in 2018 and 2019.⁽¹⁾ NEURC’s independence and transparency is a cornerstone to future integration with the European energy markets and required to build trust of public donors and private investors alike. To this end, NEURC must satisfy European standards.

Acknowledging the improvements in NEURC’s independence achieved since 2019, the Secretariat remains concerned about several provisions of Ukrainian legislation, including the NEURC Law, as they do not guarantee the functional and financial independence of NEURC.

At the same time, the authority of NEURC has been significantly strengthened by the adoption of the new legislation, in particular the REMIT Law, and will be extended with the implementation of the Clean Energy Package expected by the end of 2023.

The Secretariat is ready to make every effort to support Ukraine and its energy regulatory authority in implementing the needed reforms.
 

(1) In March 2018 the Energy Community Secretariat issued a report on the compliance of NEURC with the obligations stemming from the Energy Community acquis communautaire. Later in May 2019 an update was published evaluating whether progress has been made to strengthen the shortcomings identified in the 2018 Report.