The European Business Association (EBA) has once again appealed to the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) with a call to revise the current approach to setting maximum price limits—so-called price caps—on organized electricity market segments. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the Association's official statement. The occasion for the new appeal was the publication on October 21, 2026, of a new draft resolution by the regulator concerning price caps in the day-ahead, intraday, and balancing markets.
Commercial Imports from the EU Under Threat
According to experts from the EBA Energy Committee, current price restrictions create a systemic barrier to commercial electricity imports from European Union countries during hours of acute deficit. The Association's appeal explicitly states that price caps 'may constrain the possibilities of commercial imports from the EU to cover the electricity deficit.' In conditions where domestic generation does not fully cover demand, import flows become a critically important balancing tool, while a rigid price ceiling makes them economically unviable for foreign suppliers.
Blocking the Development of Flexible Generation
The second key argument of the EBA concerns the investment climate in the new flexible generation segment. Association experts argue that maintaining current price caps worsens the conditions for the development of gas-piston, gas-turbine, and cogeneration plants, as well as for attracting private investment in new generating capacities. These types of generation typically operate in peak modes and depend on market prices, so artificially limiting the upper tariff boundary reduces their profitability and scares off investors, which in the long run exacerbates the structural deficit.
Integration with the EU Market and Market Coupling
The EBA also emphasizes that revising the regulator's price policy is of strategic importance for the further integration of the Ukrainian electricity market with the European one. In particular, this concerns the introduction of the market coupling mechanism—automated matching of trades on adjacent markets, which implies free pricing and the absence of rigid administrative ceilings. Without adjusting the price caps, full accession to the European price contour remains difficult.
Expert Context: Winter Deficit as the Main Risk
Earlier, the business position was supported by Volodymyr Oмельченко (Omelchenko), Director of Energy Programs at the Razumkov Centre, who stated that under current price caps, electricity imports might be commercially unprofitable for suppliers, and during the winter period, this could further increase capacity shortages. Thus, the issue of revising price restrictions goes beyond a narrow sectoral discussion and becomes a systemic factor affecting the country's energy security in the 2026/2027 heating season.
What's Next
At the time of preparing this material, NEURC has not published an official response to the EBA appeal. The new draft resolution, posted on October 21, is at the stage of public discussion, and it is during this period that the business community is trying to influence the final wording of the document. The regulator's final decision will determine whether the current price restriction model is maintained or a mechanism for their flexible adjustment depending on market conditions and import volumes is established.
