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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The commission should become politically independent, and its members should be chosen through a competitive process.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a basis a bill to strengthen guarantees for the exercise of powers of the National Commission, which carries out state regulation in the fields of energy and utilities, No. 14282. At the meeting on 16 September, it was supported by 249 members of parliament.
The bill provides for strengthening the guarantees of the Commission's activities, in particular clarifying its status, the specifics of its structure and size, the procedure for selecting members of the Competition Commission, conducting the competitive selection and appointing members of the commission.
After the bill is adopted in full, the commission is to undergo a reset.
According to the bill's provisions, the Prime Minister of Ukraine appoints to and dismisses from the position the members of the Commission based on the results of the competition.
The regulator, while performing its functions and powers, acts independently within the framework defined by law, impartially and transparently, and must not request and/or follow written or oral instructions, orders, or assignments from the president, the prime minister, and other members of the government, or any other state body. Any such instructions, orders, or assignments are considered illegal influence.
The same person cannot be a member of the NERC more than two terms. Also, Commission members cannot display their political views and perform actions or be involved with any political force.
The competition commission elects the chair and approves its working regulations.
In the morning, MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrote that if this bill is adopted in full, the NERC could be purged of Timur Mindich and Herman Galushchenko, who are implicated in a criminal case about large-scale corruption in the energy sector.
“At the last parliamentary committee hearing, an NABU detective, Oleksandr Abakumov, described how the “independent” regulator of tariffs was really run and that Galushchenko and his associates had influence over the commission even after moving to the Ministry of Justice,” he recalled.
According to Zheleznyak, certain politicians and officials tried with all their might to prevent the bill from being adopted.
The National Commission, which carries out state regulation in the fields of energy and utilities, regulates tariffs for electricity, gas, heat, and water, and also issues permits to companies to operate in the energy and utilities sectors. Its remit also includes supervising market rules compliance and protecting consumer rights.
As ZN.UA wrote, even staunch opponents of NABU in the security services call the operation “Midas” brilliant. But... Why is the main figure in the investigation — longtime president’s associate Timur Mindich — not sitting in the Vakks? Was there a leak of information about upcoming searches? In what other areas of power monetization did Mindich have influence? What and who can stop further investigations? And most importantly: what should the president do and what should the country do? About this in the article “Operation ‘Midas’. The path to absolute power the length of a dollar” by Inna Vedernikova.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Рада підтримала за основу перезавантаження НКРЕКП після гучної справи про корупцію в енергетиці". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
