Energy Community Secretariat hails Ukraine's new procedure for changing supplier for non-household consumers

MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - The Energy Community Secretariat gave a positive assessment to Ukraine's new procedure for changing a supplier for non-household consumers that removes the obligation of customers who want to change their supplier to pay remaining debts prior to supplier switching.

Ukraine's National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) made this statement, citing the Energy Community Secretariat's report, titled "Assessment of the amendments to the Gas Transportation Code and the Rules for the supply of natural gas (regarding the procedure for switching the supplier by nonhousehold consumers)" as part of the Ukraine Energy Market Observatory project, according to Ukrainian media.

Specifically, this document contains analysis of NEURC's August 8, 2023 executive order that introduced the aforementioned amendments to the Gas Transportation Code and the Rules for the supply of natural gas.

"The Energy Community Secretariat stressed that these amendments, which above all abolished the requirement for non-household consumers to provide evidence for the absence of outstanding debts towards the existing supplier as a precondition to switch to a new supplier, are in line with EU legislation, namely EU Directive 2009/73," the commission said on its website.

The cancellation of this requirement simplifies in practice the procedure for changing a supplier for non-household consumers, the regulator said. Besides, the entire information exchange process as part of a switchover to a new supplier (for instance, information on initiating the change procedure, the date of starting deliveries by a new supplier, the consumer's removal from the current supplier's register of consumers) shall be conducted automatically via the information platform of the Gas Transmission System Operator.

"Thus, the NEURC order removed obstacles and facilitated the market's opening for the benefit of Ukrainian consumers and competition on the market," the regulator said.