By KYIV. Dec 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Draft law No. 5322 on prevention of abuses in wholesale energy markets, which provides for the implementation in Ukraine of EU Regulation No. 1227/2011 on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (REMIT), may be adopted as early as this year, head of the Rada energy and housing committee Andriy Gerus said.
"We would like to pass the law in December," he said at a discussion supported by the USAID Energy Security Project (ESP) in Kyiv last week.
Gerus stressed that Ukraine aims for full integration into the EUR opean energy market, and the implementation of the REMIT regulation is one of the important and necessary steps along this path.
"The market should work under equal conditions for all players. And there should be an independent strong regulator," the head of the committee said.
According to him, even in the conditions of war, the Rada will do everything necessary to maintain market relations in the energy sector.
Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas said that the integration of the Ukrainian energy system with the EUR opean one is the key to energy security, as well as a guarantee of investment in recovery.
He expressed hope that the bill would be approved by the Rada without significant changes, and then secondary legislation would be quickly adopted.
During the discussion, it was noted that if adopted in December this year, market participants will be given a year to prepare, and the basic norms of the law can start working as early as 2024, if martial law is lifted by that time.
Representatives of the Energy Community also positively assessed the document, and Gerus asked to receive the final opinion of the EC Secretariat on a number of remaining controversial norms before the final vote.
During the discussion, among such controversial norms, the scope of powers of the NEUR C, in particular, to conduct investigative actions, and the amount of fines were mentioned. According to Gerus, an amendment has been submitted to the bill to reduce the maximum fine from EUR 250 million to EUR 25 million.
