The development of the energy service market: world practice and Ukraine’s realities

Abstract

The article analyzes the world practice of the energy service market performance and energy service companies, which act as its major operators, for the purpose of adapting best practice to Ukraine’s realities and applying it to the current economic and institutional environment in Ukraine. Given the influence of exogenous and endogenous factors and the need to enhance energy security and environmental safety of the country, it is stressed that the issue of developing the energy service market and strengthening energy service companies is particularly challenging. A range of methodological approaches to examining and adapting such a practice are grounded. The rationale for these approaches is that the development of energy service markets and their main parameters may depend on the level of economic development, institutional environment, availability of fuel and energy, climate conditions, etc. Certain regions and particular countries in which such dependence is observed are singled out.The main models for developing energy service markets in the world are determined as well as their parameters: market size, market potential, main types of energy service contracts, institutional environment in which markets operate, methods of financing energy-saving measures. The major parameters of the energy service market and the performance of energy service companies in the countries representing different models are assessed based on sound methodological approaches. The study reveals that the assumption about dependence of the energy service market on the level of economic development, institutional environment, climate conditions, availability of fuel and energy proved true.