20 Sep 2022 10:20

Head of Ukraine's Gas Transmission System Operator dismissed

MOSCOW. Sept 20 (Interfax) - Mahistralni Gazoprovody Ukrainy (MGU), the sole owner of the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU), dismissed GTSOU chief executive Sergiy Makogon on September 16.

Makogon said on social media that MGU's supervisory board made the decision to dismiss him while he was on a business trip.

"I don't understand yet for what reasons. I don't know, what is this? Sabotage - to paralyze the work of a strategic company [...]? A last resort gesture - the last attempt to block the reform of GTSOU corporate governance and bring in their own people into the company's management without transparent competition?" Ukrainian media quoted Makogon as saying.

This decision looks particularly cynical after the European Union, the Energy Community Secretariat and the World Bank supported a reform of corporate governance at GTSOU that calls for the creation of a supervisory board at GTSOU itself and the liquidation of MGU, he said. It is the new supervisory board of GTSOU that should elect the new management of the operator through a transparent competitive process, he said.

"Of course, this is happening with the unofficial support of the Energy Ministry, which also recently proposed its representative for the position of GTSOU head. In any case, this is a very irresponsible decision that jeopardizes the country's energy security," Makogon said.