Energy Club Appeals to the NSDC and the Office of the President: Retrospective Pressure on Suppliers Threatens National Energy Security

10.02.2026

The Energy Club business community has officially appealed to the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine and the Head of the Office of the President, calling for urgent intervention in the critical situation within the public electricity procurement market. Due to shifts in judicial practice and the retrospective application of new rules to historical contracts, suppliers are preparing for a mass withdrawal from the public sector starting in 2026. This creates a direct threat to critical infrastructure facilities.

Currently, prosecutors are initiating mass lawsuits against energy suppliers, demanding the reimbursement of funds under contracts spanning 2018–2025. This wave of litigation is based on a new Supreme Court position that limits contract price increases to no more than 10% of the original price, regardless of actual market fluctuations or the number of price adjustments made. Energy Club emphasizes that this approach contradicts the long-standing guidance from the Ministry of Economy and prior judicial practices upon which honest businesses have relied for years.

Key Risks Highlighted in the Appeal:

• Destruction of the Investment Climate: Foreign and domestic investors are already scaling back preparations for energy infrastructure restoration projects due to unpredictable “rules of the game” and the risks of retrospective penalties.
• Paralysis of Public Procurement: Facing the risk of criminal prosecution for objective market price increases, suppliers are considering a complete refusal to participate in tenders for hospitals, water utilities, and district heating companies.
• Destabilization of the Energy System: A mass exit of suppliers would force consumers onto the “Supplier of Last Resort” (SoLR), threatening its financial collapse and triggering a chain reaction of non-payments.

“In effect, investors are being shown a model where the state first establishes one set of rules, business invests resources, and later a new interpretation is formed and applied retroactively. This calls into question the feasibility of any long-term contracts, particularly in the field of reconstruction,” the Energy Club statement reads.

The letter also specifically highlights the issue of ignoring formula-based pricing mechanisms. Regulatory bodies are mistakenly equating automatic price adjustments (via formulas) with standard changes to essential contract terms, making it impossible to operate in a volatile market.

Energy Club calls on the NSDC and the Office of the President to treat this situation as a threat to energy security and to initiate an interdepartmental meeting to develop a solution. It also proposes instructing the Cabinet of Ministers to establish clear regulatory frameworks to prevent the double interpretation of price adjustment rules.

A copy of the appeal has also been sent to the Prime Minister of Ukraine.