Tight new permitting and grid connection rules set the bar high for developers
1. Preliminary remarks
On 27 April 2026, the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (“ANRE”) published, for a new round of public consultations (i) the Draft Order for the amendment and supplementation of certain ANRE orders in the field of connection of users to the public electricity grid, available in Romanian here (the “Draft Grid Regulation”), and (ii) the Draft Order for the amendment and supplementation of the Regulation for granting licenses and authorisations in the electricity sector approved by ANRE Order No. 6/2025, available in Romanian here (the “Draft Licensing Regulation”).
The drafts are open for public consultation for 10 days from publication, during which comments and proposals may be submitted to ANRE. Thereafter, the drafts are expected to be adopted possibly without further amendments.
Recently, ANRE has launched for public consultation on 6 March 2026 a prior version of a draft regulation meant to tackle the problem of capacity hoarding, while as regards the licensing regulation a draft amendment regulation had been published on 31 December 2025 (“Prior Draft Regulations”).
These proposals signal a clear regulatory direction: discouraging speculative projects and accelerating the implementation of viable ones through stricter timelines, higher financial commitments and more robust enforcement mechanisms. The main novelties introduced by the Draft Grid Regulation and Draft Licensing Regulation are outlined below.
2. Introduction/amendment of requirements regarding grid connection
The main changes proposed under the Draft Grid Regulation concern, in particular: (i) increasing the financial guarantee required for obtaining the technical connection permit (Romanian: “aviz tehnic de racordare”) (“ATR”) and introducing new enforcement cases; (ii) introducing new cases for termination of the ATR and of the grid connection agreement (Romanian: “contract de racordare”) (“GCA”); (iii) regulating the right of the grid operator to request extension of the GCA; and (iv) amending the rules on participation bonds for grid capacity allocation auctions.
Authors: Cosmin Stăvaru (Partner) and Vasile Soltan (Senior Associate).
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