The National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission of Ukraine (NEURC) has approved a draft of amendments to the Retail Electricity Market Rules.
As stated on the regulator’s website, the document introduces European demand-side management mechanisms and allows consumers to receive money for changing their electricity-use schedule.
The innovation provides for shifting consumption from peak hours to periods of lower load. This mechanism will operate through aggregators — market participants that combine the capabilities of individual consumers.
At the same time, there is no need to change electricity supplier. Consumers will have two separate contracts: one with the supplier for purchasing electricity, and one with an aggregator for participating in demand-side management and receiving remuneration.
For example, businesses will be able to move production processes to other hours, and households will be able to change when they run domestic electrical appliances. If they comply with the terms of the contract with the aggregator, consumers will receive payments.
For Ukraine’s power system, this is an opportunity to reduce load during peak hours, use capacity more efficiently, and maintain the balance between generation and consumption, the NEURC stressed.
The draft resolution also sets out rules for interaction between market participants, contract terms, and the settlement procedure.