Supreme Court Has Finally Resolved a Dispute on Monopoly Abuse by Vinnitsaoblenergo JSC

The Commercial Cassation Court within the Supreme Court upheld the rulings of first and appellate instance courts in a dispute concerning the abuse of monopoly position by JSC Vinnitsaoblenergo regarding the Ukrainian fuel briquette producer, KMO LLC.

The dispute arose after the grid operator, JSC Vinnitsaoblenergo, imposed unreasonable technical specifications for increasing the capacity of KMO LLC’s power facilities. The energy monopolist sought to shift the funding for the construction of new energy infrastructure, valued at approximately UAH 6 million, onto the Ukrainian manufacturer.

As a result of these demands, the launch of a new fuel briquette production line was effectively blocked. KMO LLC sought legal assistance from Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm.

Thanks to the legal strategy developed by the Ilyashev & Partners’ Antitrust and Competition Practice team, the AMCU found the energy supplier’s actions to be a violation of the legislation on the protection of economic competition, ordered it to cease the abuse, and imposed the maximum possible fine on the infringer.

JSC Vinnitsaoblenergo attempted to challenge this decision in court; however, the courts of first and appellate instances supported the AMCU’s position. Disagreeing with these rulings, the energy monopolist filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court.

By a resolution of the Supreme Court dated 25 June 2026, the dispute was brought to a conclusion: JSC Vinnitsaoblenergo was definitively denied its appeal against the AMCU decision.

“This case is significant for Ukrainian businesses that face infrastructure monopolists daily. The Supreme Court has clearly reaffirmed that shifting the costs of constructing public utility networks onto private investors under the guise of issuing technical specifications is unlawful. We succeeded not only in protecting our client from millions in losses, but also in unblocking the company’s operations,” noted Oleksandr Fefelov, Partner and Head of Antitrust and Competition Practice at Ilyashev & Partners.