At the Energotech forum in Kyiv, experts put together a checklist for the chief power engineer: how to set priorities, assess reserve capacity during peak loads, identify vulnerabilities in the power supply scheme, and ensure energy resilience using energy storage systems (ESS) and cogeneration units (CHP).
Whatever business and technical model a company chooses for the new season, the legal component must also be on this checklist, because the rules of the energy market are changing very dynamically.
A few tips from Yehor Hrechushkin, energy adviser at Altelaw & Sempra, on grid connection:
- Review the capacity at your connection point. From 1 September 2026, the permitted capacity can be split into separate values for consumption (offtake) and supply (injection), and generation, ESS and consumption can operate at a single connection point (cable pooling). If you pay for capacity that you don’t use around the clock, that reserve can be used for ESS or generation without a new, separate connection.
- Take the 80% threshold into account. Under the Cabinet of Ministers’ decision of 20.08.2026, enterprises that cover at least 80% of their consumption with their own generation, distributed generation within a single distribution system operator (DSO) area, and imports can avoid outage schedules. Assess whether an ESS or CHP unit would help you reach this threshold.
- Consider fixing the price for part of your volume. Since 17.06.2026, long-term fixed-price contracts have been available for a quarter, six months or a year. This is a hedging tool, but the pilot covers only 4% of the volume of two state-owned producers, so treat it as a supplement to your portfolio rather than a replacement for spot purchases. Check the auction requirements in advance, as well as whether you have the resources for the guarantee deposit.
- Conduct a legal audit of your current technical conditions (TC) and connection agreement. Check whether it is more advantageous to use the new mechanisms before submitting a new application or changing the design solution.
Recommendations from Olga Sydorchuk, partner at the company, on permitting procedures and the construction of CHP and ESS:
- Check where the ESS can be located. Law No. 2956-IX allows ESS to be built and operated on land plots of any category and designated use. For other energy facilities, the land must meet separate requirements, so do not buy or lease a plot without a legal audit.
- If you build under the simplified procedure (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1320), plan legalisation in advance. CHP and ESS can be built without an environmental impact assessment, expert review, permit, or land allocation, but the simplification applies only to administrative procedures. After construction is completed, you have 24 months (and no later than 6 months after martial law ends) to formalise the land, approve the project, pass the expert review and obtain the certificate. If the plot has restrictions, legalisation will be impossible.
- Register the TC in the Unified State Electronic System in the Construction Sector (EDESSB). The technical conditions (or a letter confirming their absence) must be registered in the EDESSB; otherwise you will not be able to obtain the construction permit documentation.
According to market experts, about 70% of projects with storage systems fail to reach their planned payback because of design and integration errors. Check your facilities’ readiness for winter at three levels: technical, operational and legal.
