Energy #20 Legislative focus

ANRE Order No. 54/2026 creates a market mechanism through which Transelectrica may purchase voluntary reductions in dispatchable electricity consumption during system crises.

Eligible providers include consumers, suppliers and aggregators participating in the day-ahead market. Final consumers may participate directly or through a supplier or aggregator, provided their consumption sites have meters that allow remote data transmission.

Transelectrica will organise daily auctions for 15-minute intervals, with a minimum offer of 0.5 MW. Offers will be selected in ascending price order and paid at the offered price.

Reductions will be checked against a reference calculated using electricity purchases for the corresponding intervals during the previous five working days. If the total committed reduction is not delivered, the validated volume will not be paid.

Suppliers and aggregators must agree contractually with final consumers on participation, verification, settlement and remuneration. The final regulation removed the proposed requirement to transfer at least 50% of the payment to the consumer.

Transelectrica has three months to consult and publish the operational procedure and framework contract.

The regulation creates a new revenue opportunity for consumers able to adjust production or shift electricity demand during periods of system stress. It also opens a market for suppliers and aggregators offering flexibility services.

The mechanism is legally in force but not yet operational. Participation will depend on the Transelectrica procedure, access to remotely readable metering and contractual terms offered by suppliers and aggregators.

Removing the minimum payment share gives intermediaries greater commercial freedom but leaves final consumers with less regulatory protection. The financial benefit will depend on individual negotiations.

Three measures adopted last week cover different parts of Romania’s hydrogen framework.

A joint ministerial order introduces risk-assessment requirements for hydrogen production, storage and refuelling infrastructure during urban planning and construction authorisation. Assessments must be proportionate to the installation’s risk, while low-risk projects may use a simplified methodology.

Risk analyses completed during urban planning will not have to be repeated during construction authorisation. Seveso documentation may also be used if it covers the same scenarios. Until Romania adopts national thresholds, developers must use recognised European or international methodologies.

ANRE Order No. 56/2026 approved the Hydrogen Code, which brings together the existing rules for authorisation, licensing, technical approvals and activities across the hydrogen chain. It does not yet establish the full regime for dedicated networks, access, tariffs and storage, which depends on further primary and secondary legislation.

Law No. 181/2026 introduces renewable hydrogen obligations. Fuel suppliers must achieve eligible shares of 0.2% in 2027, 0.5% in 2028 and 0.8% in 2029, followed by a minimum 1% share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin in road transport from 2030.

Industrial users must ensure that renewable hydrogen represents at least 42% of covered hydrogen consumption from 2030 and 60% from 2035. Compliance will require certification, traceability, independent auditing and reporting.

Non-compliance may result in penalties of RON 0.25 per MJ of deficit for fuel suppliers and RON 0.17 per MJ for industrial consumers, capped at 1% of the previous year’s net turnover. Any deficit will also be added to the following year’s obligation.

The measures clarify where and how hydrogen installations may be developed and create a timetable for future demand. Fuel suppliers and industrial users now have defined obligations around which they can begin planning procurement and compliance systems.

The framework remains incomplete. The Hydrogen Code consolidates current rules but does not settle network access, tariffs or the economic regime for dedicated hydrogen infrastructure.

The absence of national risk thresholds may also produce different interpretations between projects and local authorities. ANRE must still adopt the reporting and verification procedure and prepare further technical rules.

ANRE proposed a procedure governing the constitution, verification, execution and release of the financial guarantee required for electricity-sector establishment authorisations.

The amount remains EUR 30/kW and is calculated using the installed capacity included in the grid connection permit. The guarantee must remain valid for the authorisation period plus 12 months.

Storage installed at the same production or consumption site as an existing generation capacity would be exempt. Stand-alone storage projects would remain subject to the full guarantee.

CfD projects would also be exempt where the developer has already provided the performance guarantee required under the CfD contract. The exemption would apply to the project’s entire installed capacity, not only to the capacity contracted through the support mechanism.

For hybrid projects, the guarantee would apply only to newly added capacity that is not otherwise exempt. Repowering without an increase in installed capacity would be exempt, while projects that increase capacity would provide the guarantee only for the additional power.

ANRE may execute the guarantee if the project is not completed and the final acceptance report is not submitted before the authorisation expires. Exceptions apply where delays result from circumstances beyond the investor’s control.

The procedure gives developers greater clarity on a requirement that can create significant financing costs for large projects.

The exemptions reduce the burden for CfD projects, co-located storage and investments that modify existing capacities. Stand-alone storage remains at a disadvantage compared with batteries added to generation or consumption sites.

Developers must align the guarantee period, construction schedule and final acceptance process. A completed project could still face execution risk if the required documentation is not submitted before the authorisation expires.

The draft is open for consultation until 23 September 2026.

Government Decision No. 684/2026 extends until 30 September the measures introduced under Government Decision No. 603/2026. The previous framework was due to expire on 31 August.

Transelectrica may activate the measures if a crisis threatens the secure operation of the National Power System.

The intervention sequence includes increasing reserves from units capable of using alternative fuels, starting units in technical reserve, reducing interconnection capacity and exports and, as a last resort, limiting electricity consumption in stages.

The measures do not apply automatically. Transelectrica determines whether and when activation is required and must notify market participants at least 24 hours in advance.

Industrial consumers remain exposed for another month to possible mandatory consumption reductions. The short notification period could affect production schedules, contractual deliveries and operational continuity.

The extension overlaps with ANRE’s new voluntary demand-side flexibility mechanism, but the two instruments are separate. The ANRE mechanism provides payment for voluntary reductions, while the Government decision preserves mandatory intervention during a crisis.

The voluntary mechanism cannot yet provide an alternative because Transelectrica still has three months to prepare the operational rules. Companies with high electricity consumption should therefore retain contingency plans for a possible 24-hour restriction notice.