You're reading: European Commission Vice President: Electricity sector reform in Ukraine more important than gas sector

The reform of the electricity sector in Ukraine is more important that the transformation of the gas sector, European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic said on Friday at a conference entitled “Electricity Sector Reform in Ukraine – Combining the Energy Transition & European Market Integration” held in Brussels.

He said that today that the main focus is on gas issues. Attention to them is much due to many reasons, but the electricity market reform is also important, and it is even more important that the gas sector reform, he said.

Sefcovic pointed out the importance of establishing an independent regulator of the electricity market (the National Commission for Regulation of Energy, Housing and Utilities Services (NCER) and completing the corporate governance reform at national energy company Ukrenergo.

In addition, the official paid attention to the provision of competitive and transparent conditions both on the wholesale and retail electricity markets, recalled about the importance of investing into the increase of reliability and quality of power lines, including in the context of the integration into the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E).

Sefcovic said that one of the strategic goals of the European Union and Ukraine is boosting the share of sustainable energy in the balance of energy. He welcomed a bill on the introduction of auctions for stimulating sustainable energy usage drawn up by members of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee for fuel and energy complex.