Olga Bielkova, who belongs to pro-president block in Ukrainian parliament, emphasizes that artificially low prices for natural gas in the past distorted the market and stifled domestic production. “Industry and consumer tariffs were further inflated by government subsidies that incentivized irresponsible energy consumption. Ukraine's industry, hooked on the cheap energy, had no incentive to modernize. And its oligarchs made billions of dollars off shady energy schemes”.
For the last year Ukrainian Parliament have made an impressive progress on the way to reform energy sector. In April, Parliament passed major legislative change to remove the monopoly status for Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned oil and gas company, enabling the transition towards a modern energy market. Naftogaz leadership was replaced by a young, professional, and reform-minded team, who have worked tirelessly to diversify supplies. As a result, in May Ukraine’s gas imports from Europe surpassed those from Russia.
Bielkova thinks that “one of the best ways to help Ukraine is to invest in its energy sector. To better facilitate this, our first priority should be revisiting the country's tax structure and removing market distortions in domestic energy production, … introduce competition and, if need be, consider privatization”. Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com
