Amidst the flow of loud publications and mutual accusations, it is important not to let emotions replace the discussion. Today, the key issue is to have the professional and managerial courage to acknowledge the obvious: the power system is operating under emergency conditions, and this must be correctly reflected not only in statements but also in market settlements.
As early as January 16, we, as electricity suppliers, officially submitted requests to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, NEC “Ukrenergo,” and the NERC (National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission) asking for clarifications regarding the application of the emergency regime in market settlements.
Unfortunately, no response has been received so far.
At the same time, it is worth noting a simple fact: if the emergency in the Ukrainian Unified Energy System had been declared immediately, questions regarding trades by JSC “Energoatom” simply would not have arisen.
Why? Because this is explicitly provided for in current regulations. It should be noted that Ukrainian legislation directly and comprehensively regulates the issue of an emergency in the Unified Energy System of Ukraine as a special mode of functioning of the electricity market, in particular the Law of Ukraine “On the Electricity Market,” the Transmission System Code, the Electricity Market Rules, as well as NERC Resolution No. 332 (in its current edition).
According to NERC Resolution No. 332 dated February 25, 2022:
- An emergency in the Ukrainian Unified Energy System is considered to have occurred from the moment of its official declaration by NEC “Ukrenergo.”
During an emergency:
- Registered volumes under bilateral agreements are annulled;
- Results of trades on the DAM (Day-Ahead Market) and IDM (Intraday Market) are annulled;
- Ordinary market mechanisms are not applied.
The electricity price during this period is determined through the balancing market — based on the arithmetic average of DAM prices over the previous 30 days when there was no emergency.
In other words: no “post-factum accusations,” no trade manipulations, no shifting of responsibility — the mechanism already exists and is clearly defined.
