The Supervisory Board of Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo appointed Vitaliy Zaichenko as the new Chairman of the Management Board. Zaichenko has served as the company’s Chief Dispatcher since 2015.
His appointment happened after a five-month delay due to political infighting.
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Zaichenko started working at Ukrenergo back in the 1990s as an engineer before becoming Chief Dispatcher. In his tenure, he’s played a central role in maintaining the stability of Ukraine’s energy system during Russia’s large-scale attacks on power generation and transmission infrastructure – strikes that, at one point, halved the country’s electricity output.
Another key achievement was the swift synchronization of Ukraine’s energy grid with Continental European network (ENTSO-E), enabling energy imports from the European Union that helped offset shortages during the winter seasons of 2022-2024.
Chairman of the Supervisory Board Jeppe Kofod reported in Ukrenergo’s press release that the election of the new Chairman of the Management Board took place in compliance with a transparent competitive procedure.
“Our goal was to find a candidate who can most effectively ensure the achievement of the company’s strategic objectives and has the necessary knowledge and professional experience for work in the conditions of war and Russian attacks on the Ukrainian power system,” the press release quotes Kofod saying.
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Why Ukrenergo needed a new CEO
The competition for the position of Chairman of the Management Board of NPC Ukrenergo was announced by the Supervisory Board of the company on Feb. 5 this year.
Oleksii Brekht had served as the Acting Chairman of the Management Board since Sept. 5, 2024, as the process of choosing the new CEO was ongoing.
Ex-Ukrenergo CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi was dismissed by Ukrenergo’s supervisory board on Monday night, Sept. 2, 2024. President Volodymyr Zelensky had expressed support for his removal.
The official reason for Kudrytskyi’s dismissal is unfinished defensive constructions of high-voltage grid facilities that allegedly led to interruptions in the supply of electricity after Russian missile strikes on Aug. 26.
However, supervisory board members Daniel Dobbeni and Peder Andreasen, released a statement in which they announced their dismissal from the board – and said that the reasons for Kudrytskyi’s ousting were largely political.
Ukrenergo under Brekht
Brekht was appointed as the temporary chairman by Ukrenergo’s supervisory board on Sept. 5, but the announcement was made on Friday, Sept. 13. Under his tenure, Ukrenergo renegotiated terms for “green bonds” that had been issued in 2021.
Ukrnergo could not pay the principal and interest payments on the bonds due to substantial costs needed to restore electricity transmission substations destroyed by Russia.
Amid political mishaps and Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrenergro reported it had agreed terms with an ad hoc group representing approximately 40% of the bondholders, offering them two options: a bond buyback or a bond swap.
The agreement between Ukrenergo and the bondholders helped Ukraine pass a milestone in Ukraine’s debt restructuring and sustain Ukraine’s financial stability.
Why Ukraine’s government delayed the process of choosing the new CEO
In September last year, after Kudrytskyi was dismissed, Ukraine first started the process of choosing a new CEO.
On Feb. 5, the supervisory board announced a competition to fill the position.
According to Forbes Ukraine, a new head could have been appointed by the end of April, but the process was delayed.
This delay was caused by Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy, which amended the company’s charter, changing the voting rules. The new rules allowed government representatives to block the decisions of the independent board members with an additional vote.
“Ukrenergo behaved independently, and the Ministry of Energy wasn’t pleased, potentially causing envy,” a source who asked not to be named do to the sensitivity of the topic told Kyiv Post.
However, the Ministry of Energy amendments were eventually canceled as it jeopardized foreign financing critically needed for repairs after Russia’s attacks, as well as defense constructions to protect substations from Russian drones.
Initially, Ukrebergo’s Supervisory Board made a list of candidates for the final stage of competition for the new CEO: Vitaliy Zaichenko, acting CEO Oleksiy Brekht, and Ivan Yuriyk, financial advisor to Ukrenergo CEO. Zaichenko was chosen unanimously.
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