Ukrenegro’s Supervisory Appoints Long-Time Employee as Acting CEO

Ukraine’s state-owned power grid operator Ukrenergo appointed Oleksii Brekht, an old hand at the company, as acting chairman.

Brekht was appointed as the temporary chairman by Ukrenergo’s supervisory board on Sept. 5, but the announcement was made on Friday, Sept. 13.

“The main task for today is to continue preparations for the heating season and the restoration of objects damaged by enemy shelling,” Brekht is quoted saying in Ukrenergo’s press release. 

Brekht said that he is dedicated to ensuring its reliable operation as part of the European ENTSO-E network – the power system of continental Europe which Ukraine joined under Ukrenergo’s previous CEO.

“Ukrenergo will maintain its course to attract international aid to restore the high-voltage network after the Russian attacks and strengthen its stability,” he said. 

“The company will continue to adhere to the practices of corporate governance according to the standards of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD] and will wait for the transparent election of an independent Supervisory Board and the appointment of the chairman of the board of Ukrenergo.” 

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Brekht has been working for Ukrenergo for 23 years, and in the energy sector for 25 years. 

For the last two years, he was a member of the board and was responsible for the operation, restoration and development of the transmission system network, the press release says. 

The new appointment came after Ukrainian media informed the public about former CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi being ousted by Ukrenergo’s supervisory board on Monday night, Sept. 2. 

The official reason for Kudrytskyi’s dismissal is unfinished defensive constructions of high-voltage grid facilities that allegedly led to interruptions in the supply of electricity after Russian missile strikes on Aug. 26, Forbes reported.

However, supervisory board members Daniel Dobbeni and Peder Andreasen, released a statement in which they announced their dismissal from the board – and said that the reasons for Kudrytskyi’s ousting were largely political.

“We strongly believe that the decision on the early dismissal of the CEO of Ukrenergo is politically motivated and, based on the results of the presented report, there are no valid grounds for it,” they wrote.

The international financial institutions working with Ukraine – the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation (IFI), Ambassador to the EU in Ukraine, and Business Ombudsman Council – reacted to the dismissal, expressing their “grave concern” in an official letter to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Kudrytskyi too said that his dismissal was not related to unfinished defensive constructions, saying that more than 60 anti-drone defense constructions were built at Ukrenergo’s high-voltage grid facilities. 

Ukrainian media outlet Monopolist – run by ex-Biznes.Censor editors Yuriy Vynnychuk and Serhiy Holovnyov – were the first ones to report on a possible dismissal. 

They tied the decision to energy minister Herman Halushchenko, who was appointed by Ukraine’s parliament in 2021.

A Kyiv Post source who used to work in the Ministry of Energy but wished to remain unnamed said that Kudrytskyi’s ousting was the result of Halushchenko’s desire to control Ukrenergo.

“Ukrenergo behaved independently, and the Ministry of Energy wasn’t pleased, potentially causing envy,” the source said.