Profile associations in the field of renewable energy appealed to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, as well as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NEC “Ukrenergo” Daniel Dobbeni with a request to refrain from dismissing the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Volodymyr Kudrytskyi.
“Releasing the chairman of the board of Ukrenergo before the end of his contract (2025 – ER), while preparing for an extremely difficult heating season, without conducting an analysis of the work of the company’s current team and its communication to both society and international partners, will negatively affect the investment the climate in the energy sector of Ukraine, which, against the background of unprecedented destruction of the energy infrastructure, requires significant private investments and financing from IFIs,” says the letter of the European-Ukrainian Energy Agency (EUEA) to Zelenskyi and Dobbeny, which is at the disposal of Energy Reform.
In the appeal of the Ukrainian Wind Energy Association to the supervisory board of “Ukrenergo”, the Office of the President and the Government, posted on its Facebook page, it is noted that the continuity of the head of “Ukrenergo” during the period of martial law is a matter of national security, and internal changes in the existing team will affect its activities and the efficiency of responding to changes in the energy system.
“During the war, the interests of the Ukrainian consumer should be a priority, when there will be an appropriate time for dismissals and, if necessary, punishments after the end of the war. UVEA asks the Supervisory Board to take into account the opinion of the market when considering the issue of the release of Volodymyr Kudrytskyi on September 2, 2024 and, if possible, to postpone the relevant decision until the end of martial law in the country,” the appeal reads.
EUEA, in particular, emphasizes that it has many years of positive experience of cooperation with the current Ukrenergo team and its manager, and also draws attention to the fact that in 2020 it managed to carry out corporate governance reform and obtain certification as an independent operator of the transmission system, which made it possible to join the Ukrainian power system to ENTSO-E already during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Also, the association emphasizes that “Ukrenergo” was able to go through a difficult path from the regime of isolated work to full membership in ENTSOE, which currently allows Ukraine to rely on the import of electric energy from Europe and the emergency assistance of operators of the transmission system of neighboring countries.
They also believe that over the past years, the management of “Ukrenergo” managed to ensure transparent and efficient operation of the company, in particular in terms of procurement, management of investment projects, operation of the electricity market, holding auctions for access to cross-border crossings.
Thanks to this work, a solid foundation of trust of MFIs, banks and donors was built in the current team of “Ukrenergo”, EUEA notes, indicating that the close cooperation of Kudrytskyi and his colleagues with international partners made it possible to issue five-year green Eurobonds of sustainable development for $825 million in 2021 year, in which IFI funds, such as the EBRD, were invested, which made it possible to cover arrears from payments to renewable energy producers.
As an example of the high-quality and transparent work of Ukrenergo and the personal involvement of its manager in the process, the association draws attention to its holding of special long-term auctions for the purchase of auxiliary services necessary to ensure the stable and reliable operation of the UES of Ukraine.
The EUEA asks the head of state and the chairman of the supervisory board when making personnel decisions to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the efficiency and transparency of the company’s work and to take into account the position of international partners, donors, financial organizations, banks, investors, market participants and “to preserve the foundation of trust that allows attracting hundreds of millions of euros for reconstruction of UES of Ukraine”.
In addition, she draws attention to the need to comply with corporate governance procedures and fulfill the conditions that allowed Ukrenergo to receive certification from the Secretariat of the Energy Community, asks to take into account the critical role that the system operator plays in the electricity market, and the importance of trust in efficiency and impartiality. Ukrenergo” on the part of all market participants and investors, to take into account the effective and conscientious work of the management and the entire team of “Ukrenergo” in 2022-2024, which, in her opinion, “made it possible to repeatedly keep the UES of Ukraine from collapse.” The association also emphasizes the importance of maintaining strategic company management during the autumn-winter maximum load in the UES of Ukraine.
According to UVEA, “Ukrenergo” is almost the only industry structure in Ukraine that has a clear understanding and strategy for keeping the energy system in working order in the future in the conditions of a large-scale war, as well as its post-war reconstruction.
She draws attention to the fact that the decentralized generation strategy presented by Ukrenergo at the beginning of August is realistic and takes into account the modern realities of war, in particular, it envisages the development of a decentralized energy system based on RES, UZE and other maneuvering capacities, such as, for example, gas piston and gas turbine installations.
Implementation of this strategy is also supported by international partners. UVEA sees a direct threat to the implementation of this strategy if the current head of Ukrenergo is fired. The change of approaches and vision of the development of the power system in the conditions of war by the national OSP, once again threatens to destroy the image of Ukraine in the international arena and undermine the stability of the power system during the war”, UVEA emphasizes.
As reported earlier, a number of mass media, citing sources, reported that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, at a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on August 30, voiced a demand for Kudrytskyi to write a statement of resignation of his own free will in the near future, but he refused.
The reason for the demand for resignation is the unfinished protective structures around the substations of the system operator, which allegedly led to interruptions in the supply of electricity after the combined shelling on August 26, when the Russian Federation launched 127 missiles and 109 attack UAVs on the territory of Ukraine.
The meeting of the supervisory board of “Ukrenergo”, at which a vote on Kudrytskyi’s removal from office is planned, may be scheduled for August 2. The company itself does not comment on this issue.
At the same time, the chairman of the energy committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Gerus, noted that Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the chairman of the board of NEC “Ukrenergo”, was absent from the meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff on Friday, and he had no communication with the president.
Gerus urged to wait for official information and expressed hope that “balanced, wise solutions” will be found. According to his assessment, Kudrytsky performed his work professionally and qualitatively, including the construction of protective shelters for the company’s energy facilities. Gerus clarified that Ukrenergo has a good reputation among international partners and donors, as well as Ukrainian stakeholders.
“Ukrenergo” is a private joint-stock company, 100% of whose shares are under the management of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine.
