Cabinet cancels special export obligation in attempt to give electricity suppliers more money

The Cabinet of Ministers recognized as invalid Resolution No. 775 on export ISO (imposed special obligations) on the electricity market. The government made this decision at a meeting on Saturday.

The special obligation on the export of electricity required exporters to give 80% of their income to the state-owned enterprise Guaranteed Buyer, which actually directs these funds to subsidize the tariff for the population.

According to the representative of the government in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk, the decision was made "with the aim of creating prerequisites for increasing the export of electricity."

The Resolution "On Imposition of Special Obligations on Electricity Market Participants Engaged in Electricity Export Operations to Ensure Public Interests in the Process of Functioning of the Electricity Market During Martial Law" has been in effect since July 2022, when Ukraine first began exporting electricity to the West.

Over the past month, Russia has carried out massive strikes on energy facilities three times. As a result of these strikes, the Dnipro HPP in Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv CHPP-5, Zmiyiv and Trypillia TPPs of the Centrenergo company, and Burshtyn and Ladyzhyn TPPs of the DTEK company were destroyed. Companies need a lot of money to restore power generation.

After these strikes, the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission announced that it is going to liberalize the electricity market and, starting May 1, will cancel the maximum prices on the day-ahead market and the intraday market.