On September 2, Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection Oleksiy Orzhel commented on how the ministries would be merged and explained the priorities of the newly established ministry.

“The overriding objective of the two ministries is to provide a comprehensive approach to public policy on the use of natural resources and energy, as well as to formulate a single state policy aimed to address the negative effects of global climate change. This approach is now widely accepted in European and world practice, in particular within the EU countries such as France, Denmark, Greece, Portugal, as well as Australia”, comments Oleksiy Orzhel.

The newly appointed Minister stressed that as a means of overcoming energy poverty there are considered to be a growing trend in the economy and energy efficiency, while the Government's Action Program contains plans to increase renewable energy and to ramp up domestic energy carriers production.

“We support the development of renewable energy both in terms of investment and reducing the environmental impact. We need to understand what the energy losses occur in the process of consumption, and therefore to draft a comprehensive government program to ensure maximum energy and environmental efficiency. For the Ministry, I lead economic growth is also a priority, with a focus on energy efficiency at the infrastructure level. It is a way of overcoming energy poverty”, said Oleksiy Orzhel.

The Minister also told about future gas supplies to Ukraine from Poland, in particular from the LNG terminals in the Baltic Sea region.

“We had an accord with the Polish side to provide interconnector capability, as well as to carry out all necessary work from both sides. Further work will be carried out at an expert group level. If the interconnector becomes operational, we estimate the volume of gas supplies to Ukraine within 1 billion cubic meters. However, in view of plans of Poland to boost capacity at the Świnoujście LNG terminal and to build a terminal in Gdańsk, we can expect in the near future a significant increase in the volume of gas that can be offered on the Ukrainian market from Poland, which in turn will ensure full loading of transit capacities”, said the Minister of Energy and Environmental Protection.