Ministry for Communities and Territories Development Responds to Energy Club's Appeal on DSO Special Equipment, Upholds Existing Procedures

16.07.2025

Energy Club has received an official response from the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine to its appeal dated May 21, 2025, regarding the systemic issue of fines being imposed on the special equipment of Distribution System Operators (DSOs). In the letter, signed by Deputy Minister Serhii Derkach, the agency clarified the current legal norms but did not offer the special mechanism for resolving the problem that the Club had insisted upon.

As a reminder, Energy Club appealed to Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine, Oleksiy Kuleba, and the Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety, Mykyta Lahunin, highlighting a critical situation. DSOs’ specialized equipment (cranes, crane-boring machines, hoists, etc.), used for urgent repairs of electrical networks, particularly after enemy attacks, is automatically flagged for violating weight norms. This leads to administrative penalties for DSO officials and forces them to choose between carrying out emergency repairs immediately, thus risking a fine, or undergoing a lengthy permit acquisition process, leaving thousands of consumers without power.

In this context, Energy Club had requested:

• To exclude DSO special equipment, which is not used for transporting cargo, from the list of objects subject to automatic recording of weight violations.
• To develop a clear mechanism that would allow for the prompt use of this equipment for emergency response without the risk of fines.

The Ministry’s Position

In its response, the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development refers to the norms of current legislation, particularly the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses (CUAP) and the Traffic Rules.

The agency stressed that exceeding the established overall dimensions and weight limits results in fines as defined by Article 132¹ of the CUAP. The only basis for an exemption from such liability is the possession of a special permit for travel.

The Ministry also notes that clause 22.5 of the Traffic Rules, which establishes weight limits, already contains exceptions. However, these apply to:

• Vehicles for winter road maintenance.
• Equipment of the Emergency Rescue Service of Civil Protection during missions.
• Vehicles transporting cargo for national defense purposes by decision of the military command (during martial law).
• Specialized complexes for repairing railway tracks.

The special equipment of Distribution System Operators is not included in this list of exceptions.

The Proposed Course of Action

Instead of creating a new mechanism for DSOs, the ministry points to the existing procedure for case review. According to this procedure, an authorized official from Ukrtransbezpeka (State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety), when processing each recorded incident, evaluates all circumstances of the case, guided by the law and their own conviction.

Therefore, in case of disagreement with an issued fine, DSO officials have the right to appeal it within ten days. The appeal can be filed with a higher authority (official) or directly with the court.

Energy Club will continue to advocate for the interests of energy companies and will pursue further dialogue with government authorities. The current procedure, which requires appealing each individual fine through the court system, does not solve the systemic problem and creates an additional administrative and financial burden on critical infrastructure enterprises, which is unacceptable under wartime conditions.