Electricity price during peak hours will increase: who will feel the change
28 July 12:02
The National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) has decided to increase price lists – the maximum allowable price for electricity – in the evening. This innovation will not directly affect household consumers, but it is important for the balance of the energy system. Why this was done and how it works is explained by
Starting July 31, 2025, new rules on the maximum level of electricity prices during evening peak consumption hours will come into force in Ukraine. This decision was made by the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC) on July 25.
What exactly has changed?
The changes will apply to the period from 17:00 to 23:00, when the price of electricity on the day-ahead and intraday markets will increase from UAH 9,000 to UAH 15,000 per MWh, and on the balancing market – from UAH 10,000 to UAH 16,000 per MWh.
Household consumers should not worry: the fixed tariff of UAH 4.32/kWh for households remains unchanged.
Who will feel the change in price lists?
- Industrial enterprises
- Companies that buy electricity during peak hours
- Electricity suppliers
- Market operators
Although households will not pay more, there may be an indirect impact on the prices of goods and services, as companies’ energy costs will increase.
Why did the NEURC make this decision?
Energy expert Gennadiy Ryabtsev in a commentary
“No, it’s not an increase in electricity prices, it’s an increase in price lists. This means that we will have the opportunity to balance the electricity supply during the day, and electricity producers will have the opportunity to balance electricity generation during the day and buy electricity in case of shortage.”
According to Mr. Ryabtsev, the current situation on the electricity market has its own peculiarities:
“Now we have an interesting situation on the market, when there is a surplus of electricity per day due to large generation at solar power plants. And since electricity is sold hourly within the domestic daily market, it turns out that the price of electricity during the day can be zero. Close to zero. And when the sun goes down and the solar interstations are turned off, then in the evening there may be a shortage of electricity.”
The expert notes that price restrictions previously set by the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities caused problems:
“And since the NEURC set price restrictions during these peak hours, our companies could not buy electricity, for example, abroad or here in Ukraine, above the price set by the NEURC. And we ended up with a surplus of electricity during the day with nowhere to go, and Ukrainergo was forced to shut down solar power plants. And in the evening, there was a shortage of electricity, and we had to limit consumers because we could not buy electricity for them because of the NEURC’s ban.”
Ryabtsev emphasizes that the price increase is aimed at solving these problems:
“So this is not an increase in the cost of electricity for someone, it is an opportunity to balance generation properly, to maintain a balance between generation and consumption.”
Will electricity tariffs rise?
Energy expert Gennadiy Ryabtsev emphasizes that the price increase is a long-awaited step that should have been taken last year. However, the implementation of this decision was delayed due to unexplained opposition from some market participants.
“This decision of the NEURC was expected last year, but for some reason, someone blocked this decision and used very strange arguments to block it, as if the price of electricity would increase for them,” Ryabtsev said.
According to the expert, the NEURC’s decision does not mean a general rise in electricity prices. It is only about price changes during certain hours of the day, while at other times the cost of electricity remains low or even zero. As a result, the average price during the day should not change significantly.
“But the price of electricity will increase during certain hours, and if you look at the price of electricity during the day when the sun is shining, you will not see any increase on average,” the expert said.
He also emphasizes that nothing will change for the majority of consumers, including households and budgetary institutions:
“For the vast majority of consumers, this has not affected and will not affect them in any way at all, I mean for households, budgetary institutions and organizations, nothing changes, nothing changes at all.”
Thus, the new rules are designed to ensure the stability of the energy system by eliminating the imbalance between electricity generation and consumption. While industry may face higher costs, there are no direct changes for households.
