Without price caps, Ukraine will have a harder time importing electricity in winter, expert says

Preparation for winter depends not only on building new capacities or protecting energy facilities. One of the key tasks remains the review of price caps — the ceiling prices on the wholesale electricity market.

According to him, if they remain below European prices, Ukrainian companies cannot purchase the necessary volume of imported electricity even when it is available. See also: Price caps should allow earning on the electricity market, - deputy. He added that alongside developing distributed generation, building energy storage systems, and strengthening protection of energy infrastructure, it is necessary to remove price restrictions that hinder imports during shortages. "Also to resolve the problem of price caps on electricity so that we could import electric energy in winter when it is needed," Omelchenko said, answering a journalist's question about preparation for the heating season. The expert also believes that it is important to solve the problem of frozen accounts of heat and utility enterprises, accelerate the development of distributed generation and energy storage systems, and also strengthen the physical protection of key energy infrastructure facilities, first of all the Ukrenergo substations and heat and power utility enterprises. "First of all, develop distributed generation at a strong pace. Eliminate this problem of frozen accounts for the Heat and Power Utilities enterprises... Build energy for a century. And, of course, strengthen the physical protection of the main energy facilities, first of all the Ukrenergo company substations and also the Heat and Power Utilities enterprise," he said.

Price caps in Ukraine. Recall that the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) raised price caps (ceiling prices) on short-term market segments in January 2026. According to industry analysts, this move allowed expanding import interties and increasing electricity imports from Europe during shortages due to damage to energy infrastructure caused by shelling by the Russian Federation. However, the regulator's January decision to raise price caps was temporary, and according to NEURC resolutions, they were returned to the previous level as of 31 March. As reported, Andriy Gerus, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada committee on energy, housing and communal services, stated that the cancellation of price caps from 1 May 2027 did not create risks of uncontrolled price growth, since the law provides market and consumer protection mechanisms. Earlier, Adrian Prokop, a expert at the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, noted that current price caps limit Ukraine’s ability to import electricity during periods of high prices in Europe. As a result, even if technically possible to supply, a portion of imports may remain economically inaccessible.