The Ukrainian National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Ukraine) has re-appealed to the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC), calling for maximum price caps on organized electricity market segments to be set at 18,000 UAH/MWh. This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the organization's relevant statement. The committee argues that reconsidering the issue amid significant price fluctuations once again demonstrates the inexpediency of keeping administrative price limits fixed for too long.
The Regulator's position and the Committee's proposal
The maximum marginal prices proposed by the Regulator are 15,000 UAH/MWh for the day-ahead and intraday markets, and 17,000 UAH/MWh for the balancing market. However, ICC Ukraine insists on a level of 18,000 UAH/MWh for these organized segments. The appeal emphasizes that in practice, when actual market prices approach the established caps, the price boundary begins to directly influence the behavior of market participants, effectively becoming an active constraint rather than a formal ceiling.
Risks to imports and EU integration
A specific risk highlighted by the committee concerns imports. If electricity in neighboring EU countries is more expensive than the maximum allowable price in Ukraine, technical capabilities for cross-border trade do not guarantee that the resource will actually enter the Ukrainian market: "An importer cannot systematically buy a resource for more than they can sell it." That is why, according to ICC Ukraine, revising the approach to price caps is vital for Ukraine's further commercial integration with the EU energy market and future market coupling.
Impact on investment in flexible generation
The organization also notes that administrative price caps increase regulatory risks for investments in gas-piston, gas-turbine, cogeneration plants, and storage systems. These assets form the flexible reserve needed to balance the grid, and their economic model depends directly on the ability to sell the produced resource at market price rather than at an artificially limited ceiling.
Support from other industry structures and general context
The call to revise price caps is not isolated. Previously, the European Business Association (EBA) reiterated its call for NEURC to set economically justified price caps, pointing out that existing constraints might deter commercial imports from the EU, the development of new flexible generation, and the attraction of private investment. The Federation of Employers of the Fuel and Energy Complex of Ukraine also urged the Regulator to raise price caps ahead of the heating season. Market Operator has taken the position that price caps should be a technical tool, not a restriction on the energy market. Against this backdrop, industry participants, including founder of the energy holding Ihor Tynnyi, attribute the blocking of market development to a combination of factors—accumulated debts (estimated at over $4 billion), unstable rules, and specifically the price caps.
