Romania: legislative developments with immediate business relevance in the energy sector

Romania will temporarily reintroduce administrative price formation for natural gas supplied to households between April 2026 and March 2027.

The Government adopted an emergency ordinance establishing a regulated pricing framework for natural gas supplied to household consumers and district heating producers delivering heat to the population.

Key elements of the mechanism include:

• domestic producers must supply defined quantities of gas at 110 RON/MWh
• priority allocation for household consumption and district heating supply
• integration of storage obligations into the supply allocation framework
• a requirement to reach national storage levels equivalent to 90% of total capacity ahead of the winter season

Gas producers: Temporary administrative pricing may influence contracting strategies and revenue expectations during the implementation period.

Gas suppliers: Procurement strategies and portfolio allocation may need to adapt to the supply obligations introduced by the mechanism.

Storage operators and system planners: The framework links supply allocation with winter storage objectives, increasing coordination requirements during the storage filling cycle.

The ordinance reduces political uncertainty regarding household supply but shifts execution risk to the operational implementation of the allocation mechanism.

The ordinance will enter into force after publication in the Official Gazette and will subsequently be transmitted to Parliament for approval.

Romania is tightening electricity grid access rules to release network capacity currently reserved by inactive generation projects.

ANRE launched a public consultation on a draft order revising the regulatory framework governing electricity network connection approvals. The proposal introduces a substantial increase in the financial guarantees required to secure connection capacity.

For projects with an approved evacuation capacity above 1 MW, the financial guarantee associated with the Technical Connection Approval will increase from 5% to 20% of the connection tariff.

The proposal also introduces implementation deadlines linked to project development. Developers must obtain the establishment authorisation within defined timeframes:

• 12 months from the signing of the connection contract
• 18 months from the issuance of the Technical Connection Approval

Failure to meet these deadlines may lead to the revocation of the approval and execution of the financial guarantee.

Renewable and generation project developers: Higher financial guarantees and stricter authorisation deadlines increase the cost of reserving grid capacity and place additional pressure on project development timelines.

Transmission and distribution operators: The measure aims to release grid capacity currently blocked by inactive projects, potentially improving planning visibility for future network investments.

Investors and lenders: Stronger connection discipline may increase confidence that available grid capacity will be allocated to projects capable of reaching the construction phase.

The proposal reflects growing regulatory pressure to address connection queue congestion in the electricity system.

The draft order is currently under public consultation and may be adopted following the consultation period.

Romania is moving toward the operational integration of energy communities into the electricity market.

ANRE published two draft regulatory acts aimed at implementing the legal framework governing renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities.

The proposals introduce several operational clarifications:

• amendments to the electricity supply regulation governing billing and settlement for shared electricity, also a cost-benefit analysis methodology assessing the impact of distributed generation on distribution networks
• the possibility for ANRE to approve distribution tariff reductions where decentralised generation produces net benefits for the grid

Energy communities and prosumers: Clearer billing and settlement rules may improve predictability for collective energy sharing arrangements.

Distribution system operators: The methodology introduces a structured framework for evaluating the network impact of distributed generation.

Local energy investors: The possibility of tariff reductions where distributed generation benefits the grid may improve project economics.

The proposals represent another step toward integrating decentralised energy production into the electricity market.

Both draft regulatory acts are under public consultation and may be adopted following the consultation period.

Romania may accelerate gas storage development by allowing petroleum exploitation concessions to be converted into underground storage licences.

A legislative proposal registered in the Senate introduces a mechanism allowing existing petroleum exploitation agreements to be converted into gas storage agreements.

The proposal introduces several procedural simplifications:

• removal of the obligation to abandon the exploitation activity
• elimination of the requirement to organise a new public tender procedure
• approval of the conversion based on technical and economic evaluation
• a 60-day deadline for the competent authority to issue a decision

Upstream operators: The proposal may create an alternative pathway for the reuse of depleted reservoirs, potentially extending the economic life of existing hydrocarbon assets.

Gas storage investors: Simplified conversion procedures could reduce administrative timelines for developing underground storage infrastructure.

Energy system planners: Additional storage capacity could strengthen supply security and improve seasonal flexibility in the gas system.

The initiative signals policy interest in expanding storage capacity through the reuse of existing hydrocarbon infrastructure.

The legislative proposal has been registered in the Senate and will proceed through parliamentary committee review.

Romania is revising the fiscal framework governing wholesale trade in excisable energy products.

The Government adopted an emergency ordinance amending several fiscal provisions related to excise duties, the RO e-TVA system and the transfer of company shares.

Key elements include:

• revised authorisation requirements for wholesale operators
• updated certification and compliance procedures
• adjustments to financial guarantee obligations for operators handling excisable products

The amendments apply to operators trading energy products, alcoholic beverages and processed tobacco.

Energy product traders: Changes to authorisation requirements and financial guarantees may affect licensing conditions for wholesale trading activities.

Logistics and storage operators: Compliance procedures related to excisable goods management may require adjustments to internal administrative processes.

Tax compliance teams: Integration with the RO e-TVA framework increases monitoring and reporting requirements for excise-related transactions.

The ordinance will enter into force after publication in the Official Gazette and will subsequently be transmitted to Parliament for approval.