They tried to block the first auction for the sale of electricity in court

The auction for the sale of electricity, which was supposed to be held for the first time, did not take place yesterday. The structures of entrepreneur Vasily Danyliv, who are monopoly suppliers on the market, obtained a court ban on holding auctions. But this decision has already been challenged by one of the generating companies, DTEK Vostokenergo, so trading could open today.

It was planned that the auction for the sale of the export section, which, according to the amendments to the law “On Electricity Industry” adopted in April, should be conducted by the Ukrenergo company, would begin yesterday at 15.00. The auction commission registered five energy generating companies to participate in the auction - Energoatom, Zakhidenergo, DTEK Vostokenergo, Ukrinterenergo and the Belotserkovskaya Thermal Power Plant. The companies paid a deposit for the right to participate in the competition, the total volume of which exceeds UAH 50 million. In total, 18 lots are planned to be put up for auction for each of the five interstate sections (directions) for the transmission of electricity for export with a total capacity of 1510 MW.

However, instead of opening the auction, the head of the auction commission, Tatyana Muravyova, announced that the auction was being postponed - yesterday the district administrative court of Kyiv issued a ruling to suspend the NERC resolution of October 22 “On the procedure for holding auctions for access to the capacity of interstate networks of Ukraine.” The determination was made based on the claim of Korlea Invest Ukraine CJSC (part of the Korlea Invest group) of entrepreneur Vasily Danyliv. The companies of this businessman now have a monopoly right to import Ukrainian electricity to Eastern European countries. Mrs. Muravyova announced a break until 16.00, and then postponed the auction three more times - to 17.34, 18.00 and 18.30, finally scheduling it for today.

The decision of the district administrative court was already challenged yesterday by DTEK Vostokenergo. The generating company also challenged the ruling of the Kyiv Economic Court, issued in response to the claim of the Ukrinterenergo GPVD, which prohibited Ukrenergo from entering into agreements to provide access to transmission capacity. Thus, now there are no prohibitions on holding an auction, says Andrey Astapov, managing partner of Astapov Lawyers. “After market participants filed an appeal, legally Ukrenergo has no grounds to stop the competition,” agrees Roman Marchenko, a partner at the law firm Ilyashev and Partners.

However, market participants say that Ukrenergo can still cancel the sale, even if it violates current legislation. “Every step towards holding these auctions is opposed by the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Fuel and Energy. Therefore, I doubt that they will take place at all,” said Chairman of the Board of Dneproenergo Yuri Bochkarev. “The interests of Korlea Invest and Ukrinterenergo in this conflict are defended by one of the deputy ministers of fuel and energy. I don’t think it is at all possible to overcome the opposition,” said Sergei Titenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Fuel and Energy Complex. Previously, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy Oleg Bugaev has repeatedly stated that he considers the current electricity export scheme optimal and criticized the law requiring the holding of auctions.

According to the president of the Energy Consulting Group, Alexey Sheberstov, buyers from Hungary and Slovakia were preparing for a change in the export pattern of Ukrainian electricity and the emergence of competition in this segment. In both countries, auctions for the purchase of Ukrainian electricity were postponed yesterday. “If auctions are not held, Ukraine will simply begin to be viewed as a frivolous and risky partner, which could lead to a gradual loss of electricity markets in Eastern Europe,” says Sergei Tulub, a member of the parliamentary committee on the fuel and energy sector.

Oleg Gavrish

Ukraine did not pass the section course