Formation of Ukrenergo’s supervisory board to resolve certification issue – MP

Transparent selection of new members for Ukrenergo's supervisory board will address the urgent issue of potentially canceling the company's certification as an independent transmission system operator, raised by the Energy Community Secretariat, according to Serhiy Nahorniak, Head of the Subcommittee on Energy Efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada's Energy and Housing and Utilities Committee.

"The letter from the head of the Energy Community Secretariat is a strong signal to the Ukrainian government that it must urgently conduct a transparent competition to select genuinely independent members for Ukrenergo's supervisory board, and the Ministry of Energy must approve their appointment. Once this is done, the issue will be resolved," he said during the Energy in Industry 2024 exhibition in Kyiv on Tuesday.

Nahorniak added that forming a new supervisory board through transparent procedures is crucial for restoring partners' trust in the company.

"Until recent events [the dismissal of CEO Volodymyr Kudrytsky and the resignation of two independent board members], Ukrenergo had significant trust from international partners. It's important to restore that trust because the company has attracted more than EUR 1.5 billion from foreign donors since the start of the war," the MP said.

The delay in appointing one of the supervisory board members, whose selection process began back in April, is attributed to a conflict between the Ministry of Energy and Ukrenergo.

"This is more of a political issue. There was clearly a certain conflict between the Ministry of Energy and Ukrenergo, and now the situation has reached a deadlock. I believe it will be resolved soon," Nahorniak said.

In response to questions about the potential consequences of canceling Ukrenergo's certification for the market and the energy system, Nahorniak expressed hope that all issues would be resolved: "I don't want to consider worst-case scenarios. I hope it won't come to that. We will preserve synchronization, electricity imports, and everything else."

"We worked for a long time to achieve the certification of the operator. The relevant law was passed by the Rada, and I hope that political decisions won't undermine this achievement," Nahorniak said.