The bill №5009 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Simplification of Connection to Electric Networks” was registered in the Parliament, in the work of which experts from the analytical center “Smart Country” (which was formed with the help of the UAC) were actively involved. The document provides for initiatives to simplify and speed up the procedures for connection to the electricity grid, specifically:

development of land management projects on allocation of land plots from state and communal lands for use by distribution system operators without obtaining a permit for its development in government bodies and application of the principle of tacit consent in approving land management projects;

project documentation of the linear part connection of electrical installations of the customer with a capacity up to 1 MW development and coordination, allocation of land plots for their placement is carried out exclusively by the distribution system operator;

introduction of a "single window" mechanism for submission and approval by concerned parties: project documentation for the construction of external power supply networks and the linear part of the connection, applications, requests, obtaining initial data, information;

distribution system and transmission system operators responsibility for non-disclosure of information on the value of load factors of transformer substations with reference to the geodetic information and technical system and for unreasonable refusal to connect to electrical networks and more.

It is worth noting that the bill contains progressive ideas, in particular:

• reducing the number of documents required for the customer's application for joining;
• reduction of terms of rendering of service on non-standard turnkey connection;
• open access to urban cadastre and other source data;
• significant simplification of solving land issues in the construction of energy facilities.

At the same time, the final draft law, which was registered in the Verkhovna Rada, contains norms that, in the opinion of the UAC consultants, may have negative consequences for consumers.

Thus, the project work of the linear part of the connection prosecution for customers of non-standard connection with a capacity of up to 1 MW is entrusted exclusively to the distribution system operator (“Oblenergo”).

In case of introduction of such a norm, customers of connection to 1 MW, in fact, are deprived of the right to independently choose the executor of project works of a linear part of connection. That is, the development of project documentation service, which today can be performed on market conditions and with choosing the business entity, is artificially monopolized, which will deprive customers of the opportunity to optimize both technical solutions and financial costs and time to implement the linear part of the connection.

Work on finalizing this bill will be continued as part of the second reading procedure.

Proposals of the UAC aimed to protect the rights of customers who connect facilities to the grid and reduce abuse of monopoly position of “Oblenergo”:

1. To increase the penalties size for “Oblenergo” for the law violating. Nowadays, the maximum penalties for “Oblenergo” are UAH 1.7 million, which does not provide sufficient deterrent effect to ensure strict compliance of system operators with consumer’s distribution rights, including the terms of customers' connection to the electrical installations to the grid services, as in most cases the actual expenditures, that the distribution system operator must pay in order to provide the connection service, reach tens of millions of UAH.
2. To establish the responsibility of “Oblenergo” for irregular provision of information to consumers about the status of networks. Substation load is a dynamic value and depends on the number of consumers and their capacity. During the year, consumers can connect to the grid, and can be disconnected. Accordingly, “Oblenergo” information on congestion levels, which, for example, is published in February, is no longer relevant in June. Regular (more than once a year) publication of data on substation load will create conditions for high-quality planning of grid connection projects for potential consumers.
3. Provide measures for indirect control over the activities of “Oblenergo” in electricity connection projects through existing public procurement instruments in order to enable customers to join control over the costs, terms and connection service providers competence through obligatory publication of “Oblenergo” in open access procurement reports, including concluded agreements copies (and any changes and/or additions to them) with suppliers of works, services, materials.
4. Provide for the possibility of building electrical networks for connection remote facilities by the customer (in the case of absence of other consumers on its own line). This will reduce the terms required to provide connection services and reduce the cost of such services for temporary (seasonal) and remote facilities (eg irrigation pumping stations, farms, greenhouses, etc.).
5. In order to reduce the time of connection service and reduce the bureaucratic burden on customers with standard and non-standard connection, cancel the requirement for the customer to connect to the grid to provide “Oblenergo” for approval (after development according to the technical conditions) internal electrical networks project.

Unfortunately, lobbyists representing the interests of “Oblenergo” owners oppose the adoption of these norms as protecting the consumers’ interests, reducing the burden of utilities’ cost, making transparent tariffs of “Oblenergo”, tightening control over the use of consumer funds, improving the energy companies’ service and, consequently, reducing profits of the owners of “Oblenergo”.