Our #URC2026 side event in Gdańsk on energy market liberalisation, carbon pricing and subsidy reform.

Thank you to everyone who joined our #URC2026 side event in Gdańsk on energy market liberalisation, carbon pricing and subsidy reform.

We had a vital discussion on sequencing Ukraine's electricity market reforms – how to progress reforms without jeopardising affordability, fiscal sustainability or investment incentives. It was emphasised that liberalisation cannot wait until martial law ends: flexible generation, demand reduction and stronger market functioning are essential for wartime resilience. Every saved or added kWh helps reduce outages this winter.

As Rouven Stubbe put it, reform must be delivered as a coherent package: phasing out the wholesale price cap, reforming the balancing market, financing RES support, pricing carbon, coupling our markets with the EU, and overhauling subsidies should move forward together.

Much of the conversation focused on the household electricity PSO and its problems – weak incentives to save, reduced market liquidity and debt risk – which point to the need for a protected baseline tariff, a genuinely financial PSO, and a gradual shift toward targeted support for vulnerable households.

How these reforms are sequenced will determine how resilient, investable and EU‑integrated Ukraine's power sector becomes. We believe this event – thanks to the valuable contributions of every participant – was an important step forward.

More details and the presentation: https://lnkd.in/dM59VCFU