Institutional support to the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities of Ukraine in the implementation of the EU Acquis, norms...

Twinning call EuropeAid to provide institutional support to the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities of Ukraine (NEURC) to align electricity market regulation with the EU acquis and facilitate integration into the European internal electricity market. Maximum EU budget €1,500,000, project duration up to 24 months, deadline for submission by Member State National Contact Points 19 November 2026 17:00 Brussels time (18:00 Kyiv time). Eligible applicants are EU Member State public administrations or mandated bodies applying via their National Contact Points. The action focuses on regulatory support for day-ahead and intraday market coupling, cross-border balancing, DSO-level flexibility services, capacity mechanisms, and wholesale market monitoring and investigations in line with REMIT principles.

What it funds

Summary

Twinning technical assistance to strengthen the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities of Ukraine (NEURC) for transposition and implementation of EU electricity market acquis, market transparency, market surveillance and related regulatory frameworks.

More information and official documents (twinning fiche, annexes and call notice) are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal topic page Call details.

Footnotes

1. 1Budget and detailed requirements are specified in the Twinning Fiche and call documents available from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Opportunity snapshot

Purpose and objectives

Scope, components and expected results

The Twinning project is structured around two main components with mandatory results and measurable indicators.

Eligibility and who may apply

Financial and implementation details

Implementation arrangements require a Project Leader (PL) from the Member State administration, a Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) to be placed in the beneficiary country (hybrid remote/onsite work possible), Component Leaders and a pool of Short-Term Experts. An assistant and a full-time translator-interpreter for the RTA are required and their costs must be included in the project budget. The project is expected to run in hybrid mode for security reasons; arrangements will be detailed in a rolling work plan updated every three months.

Selection, evaluation and submission

Key applicant requirements and roles

Applicable EU acquis, norms and standards

The Twinning fiche explicitly lists the EU legal instruments and guidelines to be used as reference for alignment and capacity building activities: Directive (EU) 2019/944 on common rules for the internal market for electricity; Regulation (EU) 2019/943 on the internal market for electricity; Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 on capacity allocation and congestion management (CACM); Regulation (EU) 2017/2195 on electricity balancing; Regulation (EU) 2024/1106 as regards improving protection against market manipulation in the wholesale energy market. The project will also draw on Energy Community obligations and Ukraine’s National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA).

Geographic eligibility and beneficiaries

Project stage, expected maturity and nature of support

Selection stages, templates and evaluation

Selection and award criteria summary

Selection considers operational capacity of the PL, RTA and Component Leaders and the eligibility of the applicant administration. Award criteria are scored (1 to 5) across operational capacity, relevance, methodology and sustainability. The evaluation grid sets minimum thresholds: section 1 must achieve at least adequate (27 points overall) and section 2 must achieve at least good (16 points) to pass. Administrative compliance is a Yes/No gating assessment.

Co-funding, success rates and financial conditions

Risks, assumptions and sustainability

Key contact and implementing actors

Project timeline and milestones

Project indicators and monitoring

Performance indicators are defined in a Simplified Logical Framework (Annex C1a). Examples include availability and adoption of legal documents aligning national legislation with CACM, Electricity Regulation and balancing guidelines; number of NEURC staff trained on SDAC/SIDC and balancing operations; availability of procedures and legal acts for flexibility services at DSO level; availability of gap analyses and guidelines on market monitoring and investigations, and methodologies for calculating penalties.

Templates and application format

Mentioned countries and region

Summary and explanation

This Twinning call finances a focused institutional support package to NEURC to accelerate alignment of Ukraine’s electricity market regulatory framework and operational practices with the EU Electricity Integration Package and related EU acquis. The action finances a Member State public administration to provide a Project Leader, a Resident Twinning Adviser, Component Leaders and Short-Term Experts to assist NEURC with drafting and adopting legal acts, establishing procedures, training staff, improving market monitoring and investigation processes, and preparing NEURC to govern market coupling, cross-border balancing, flexibility services at DSO level and capacity mechanisms. The project is fully financed by the Ukraine Facility with a grant budget of €1.5 million and runs up to 24 months. Only EU Member State public administrations applying through National Contact Points may submit proposals. The project is implemented in cooperation with the EU Delegation to Ukraine and PAO, and is designed to deliver measurable legal and institutional outputs that will enable NEURC to carry out its obligations under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and Energy Community commitments.

For full application instructions, templates and downloadable annexes see the call documentation on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the Annexes referenced in the Twinning fiche 1.

Footnotes

1. 1Annex documents referenced in this summary are published with the call on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. Key annex filenames include: Annex C1 Twinning Fiche_UA 24 UF EY 01 26, Annex C6_UA 24 UF EY 01 26, Annex C7_UA 24 UF EY 01 26 and Annex C9_UA 24 UF EY 01 26. Access via the opportunity page: ec.europa.eu

This is a Twinning call for proposals focused on institutional support to the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities of Ukraine, with the aim of aligning Ukraine’s electricity market regulation with EU acquis, norms and standards and supporting integration into the European internal electricity market. Recent public reporting also shows that NEURC is continuing work on market surveillance, REMIT-related implementation, and broader energy market reforms1.

The action is funded under the Ukraine Facility Technical Cooperation Facility 2024 and is implemented through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal as EuropeAid.

Key Facts

What the Funding Is About

The project is designed to strengthen NEURC’s capacity to regulate the electricity market in line with EU rules, improve market transparency, and enhance market surveillance and enforcement. The fiche links the intervention to the EU Ukraine Association Agreement, the Energy Community acquis, the National Programme for the Adoption of the Acquis, the Ukraine Facility Plan, and the National Energy and Climate Plan.

The technical focus is on two main components. Component 1 covers the regulatory framework for day-ahead and intraday market coupling, cross border balancing, flexibility services at distribution level, and capacity mechanisms. Component 2 covers wholesale market monitoring, prevention of manipulation, and investigations of abuses in line with REMIT and REMIT II concepts.

Applicable EU acquis and standards include Directive 2019/944, Regulation 2019/943, the CACM guideline in Regulation 2015/1222, the electricity balancing guideline in Regulation 2017/2195, and the market abuse update in Regulation 2024/1106.

Who Can Apply

Eligibility is restricted to public administrations and mandated bodies from EU Member States acting under the Twinning framework. Applications are submitted through the relevant Member State National Contact Point for Twinning, and the lead applicant must be the Member State administration or a registered mandated body.

The proposal must include the CVs of the proposed Project Leader, Resident Twinning Adviser, and Component Leaders. The Member State team should also show strong administrative capacity, relevant electricity sector expertise, and experience with cooperation projects.

Application and Selection Requirements

The call uses a Twinning selection process rather than a conventional grant competition. Formal compliance is checked first, including completeness of the proposal, correct format, inclusion of CVs, contact details, and eligibility of the proposed experts and institutions. A negative result on any formal eligibility item can disqualify the proposal.

Substantial assessment is then based on operational capacity, relevance, methodology, and sustainability. Operational capacity covers the Project Leader, RTA, and Component Leaders. Relevance tests whether the strategy fits the fiche and beneficiary needs. Methodology tests whether the proposal is coherent and capable of delivering the mandatory outputs. Sustainability tests whether the results can endure beyond the project period.

To remain competitive, the proposal should present a clear workplan, a credible administrative model, specific key activities, and a practical approach to hybrid delivery, since the fiche expects implementation in hybrid mode with remote working possible for the RTA and short term experts if security conditions require it.

Implementation Conditions

The project is expected to be implemented as a Twinning contract with one Project Leader, one Resident Twinning Adviser, Component Leaders, and a pool of short term experts. The beneficiary side must provide counterpart staff, suitable venues, equipment, and the institutional commitment needed to keep the work moving.

The official project language is English. Reporting is quarterly through interim reports and a final report, and the project is overseen by a Project Steering Committee. The fiche also expects strong sustainability measures, including training absorption checks, a final seminar, and continued use of the project outputs by NEURC after completion.

Expected Outputs and Results

Component 1 aims to deliver improved legal and regulatory capacity for market coupling, balancing, flexibility services, and capacity mechanisms. Component 2 aims to improve market monitoring, the detection of manipulation, and the investigation of abuses, including supporting legal documents, guidelines, gap analyses, and recommendations for legislative improvement.

The project is not just advisory. It is expected to produce practical regulatory drafts, compliance checks, recommendations, training outputs, and implementation guidance that can be used by NEURC and related institutions.

Practical Applicant Takeaways

1. This opportunity is for Member State Twinning bodies, not Ukrainian applicants.

2. The budget is fixed at €1.5 million, so the value proposition should emphasise expertise and realistic delivery rather than large scale staffing.

3. The proposal should be built around electricity market regulation, REMIT style market integrity work, market coupling, balancing, flexibility, and capacity mechanisms.

4. Strong evidence of relevant public administration experience, project leadership, and sectoral expertise will be critical.

5. The hybrid implementation model and Ukrainian security context should be addressed directly in the methodology.

Opportunity Snapshot

The action is a 24 month Twinning project with a maximum budget of €1,500,000, targeting EU Member State public administrations or mandated bodies that can support NEURC in advancing electricity market reform, market integrity, and EU acquis alignment in Ukraine.

Summary Table