The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine backed at first reading bill No. 5009 with amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the simplification of connection to power grids. The bill was supported by 314 MPs without discussion.
The purpose of the bill is to significantly simplify the procedure for connecting customers to the power grids, reduce the number of procedures, documents and approvals, as well as significantly cut the time required for connection, remove artificial restrictions and remove barriers in the connection procedure, the website of the Verkhovna Rada reported.
The document is aimed at developing business and improving the investment attractiveness of Ukraine by improving its positions in World Bank’s Doing Business.
As Chairman of the relevant parliamentary committee and one of the authors of the bill, Andriy Gerus, said earlier, “the bill provides for simplification of land allocation and documentary procedures for regional electricity supply companies with the purpose of cutting the connection time by 60%.
According to an explanatory note to the document, today it takes over 280 days to connect in particular of a small bakery or workshop to the power grid. The reasons for this are the complex and bureaucratic procedure for registration of rights to land plots for energy facilities, necessary to ensure connections, a significant number of certificates and approvals.
In this regard, the bill abolishes the receipt of certain permits and approvals for connection, the solution of some issues is focused exclusively on the operator of the distribution system, it simplifies access to land plots for energy facilities.
According to the explanatory note, the single-stop mechanism is being implemented to provide customers and developers with design documentation for the construction or reconstruction of power supply networks, electrical installations, applications, inquiries, obtaining output data, information and statements necessary for design and construction and installation works, as well as for approval of the project documentation by the parties involved (authorities).
The relaxation of the rules of connecting to power grids would allow Ukraine to climb in the Doing Business rating from 64th position to the top 30, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.
“In 2012, we started from one hundred and fiftieths positions, then we gradually moved to 71st, and today we are in the 64th position in the world among almost 190 countries. Our goal is the top 30,” he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
As the prime minister said, this is not about status, but about specific indicators that are important for investors.
“Today, they say that Ukraine is very good for investment, but just a few parameters bother them. The key parameter is the connection to the power grid. We are between 120 and 130 places in terms of connection to the power grid. If we improve this indicator, then automatically, without other efforts, we enter the top 30 of the overall rating,” Shmyhal said.
He said that this would mean that regional competition with neighboring countries of Poland, Hungary, and Romania is won.
