Tighter grid connection rules to unblock the grid

On 6 March 2026, the Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority (“ANRE”) published for public consultation a draft order amending and supplementing several orders of ANRE concerning the connection of users to the public electricity grid (the “Draft Regulation”), available in Romanian here. The Draft Regulation remains in public consultation for 30 days as of publication date (during which period comments and proposals can be sent to ANRE) and thereafter it is expected to be issued (possibly not necessarily in a revised form).

The Draft Regulation proposes amendments to: (i) the Regulation on the connection of users to public electricity grids, approved by ANRE Order No. 59/2013 (the “Grid Connection Regulation”); (ii) ANRE Order No. 74/2014 approving the framework content of technical connection permits; and (iii) ANRE Order No. 105/2022 approving the framework grid connection agreements. The proposed amendments to the latter two orders are intended to align their provisions with the changes proposed to the Grid Connection Regulation.

The main changes envisaged by the Draft Regulation include: (i) a substantial increase of the financial guarantee provided in favor of the grid operator; and (ii) introducing fixed deadlines for obtaining the project set-up permit (Romanian: “autorizație de înființare”), as well as regulating the consequences of failing to obtain such permit or of its withdrawal.

According to the approval report accompanying the Draft Regulation, the proposed changes primarily aim to (i) implement additional selection criteria to those already provided under the regulations currently in force, with a view to supporting electricity generation projects with a high degree of completion of the grid connection process and achieving the target of commissioning new generation capacities; and (ii) to align the regulatory framework governing the grid connection with the one applicable to permitting of energy generation capacities.

The main novelties introduced by the Draft Regulation are outlined below.

Pursuant to the Draft Regulation, developers will be required to provide, in favor of the grid operator, a financial guarantee amounting to 20% of the grid connection fee (compared to the current threshold of 5%). In accordance with the provisions already in force, such guarantee must be provided as a condition for the issuance of the technical connection permit (“ATR”).

The transitional provisions stipulate that this amendment will not apply to requests for which, by the date of entry into force of the Draft Regulation, the grid operator has already communicated to the developer the amount of the financial guarantee in accordance with the Grid Connection Regulation.

The proposed amendments reflect a trend towards stricter financial guarantee requirements, as can be clearly seen over the years:

·                     Thus, the requirement for a financial guarantee was introduced for the first time in Romania under the Grid Connection Regulation in 2013. Initially, the guarantee was required only if grid reinforcement works were necessary, with its amount calculated as a percentage of the connection fee determined by the grid operator (i.e., no fixed amount was set), and it had to be provided before the conclusion of the connection agreement, within a maximum of 3 months from the issuance of the technical connection permit (ATR).

·                     Subsequently, ANRE Order No. 4/2023 amended the Grid Connection Regulation to require the guarantee only before the conclusion of the connection agreement, while all other conditions remained unchanged. Notably, the previous 3-month deadline from ATR issuance was eliminated, making the requirement more flexible and easing the developers’ burden.

·                     However, the amendments introduced by ANRE No. Order 53/2024 made the conditions stricter: (i) the guarantee became mandatory regardless of whether reinforcement works were required, (ii) its amount was fixed at 5% of the connection fee, and (iii) it had to be provided before the ATR issuance.

·                     Pursuant to further amendments introduced by ANRE Order No. 20/2025, developers are required to provide proof of constituting the guarantee within 2 months from the grid operator’s communication of the approved solution study in the case of a single connection solution, or within a similar two-month period within which the developers shall communicate the chosen solution when multiple connection solutions are available.

The 20% financial guarantee level may be quite challenging given that many projects include grid reinforcement works, thus potentially resulting in a financial guarantee worth several millions Euro, a substantial value which must be procured at a quite early stage of the project. 

Also, the Draft Regulation clarifies that additional financial guarantees submitted for extension of the deadline to obtain the building permit must be returned within 10 days as from submitting the building permit to the grid operator.

3.                  New set-up permit requirements

According to the Draft Regulation, developers must obtain the set-up permit within a maximum of 12 months from the conclusion of the connection agreement and within 18 months from the issuance of ATR. These provisions mirror the current requirements regarding the deadlines for obtaining the building permit for the project. Failure to meet these deadlines will result in the automatic termination of both ATR and the connection agreement, as well as the enforcement of the financial guarantee provided in favor of the grid operator.

In addition, the Draft Regulation provides that the ATR will cease to be valid, and the connection agreement will automatically terminate on the date of ANRE’s decision to withdraw the set-up permit, which will also trigger enforcement of the financial guarantee.

The proposed amendments regarding the deadline for obtaining the set-up permit will apply to developers entering into grid connection agreements as from the date of entry into force of the Draft Regulation. This means that the rules will also apply to existing ATRs obtained prior to the Draft Regulation’s entry into force, provided that the connection agreement has not yet been concluded.

For developers who had already concluded connection agreements before the entry into force of the Draft Regulation, the set-up permit must be obtained within a maximum of 12 months from the entry into force of the Draft Regulation, under the sanction of the ATR ceasing to be valid and the automatic termination of the connection agreement.

The new deadlines to obtain the set-up permit are important because the issuance of the set-up permit requires financing for the project being secured in advance (as per ANRE Order No. 6/2025), which may be a time-consuming process in the event bank funding is involved and may require additional equity contributions/arrangements. Currently, there is no express specific deadline for the set-up permit, which allows the developers flexibility in putting together the necessary financing arrangements within the broader deadlines provided by the building permit and connection agreement, obtaining the set-up permit being usually scheduled towards the end of the process once financing was secured.

4.                  Conclusions

According to ANRE’s data (available here), as of 1 January 2026, there were 1,436 renewable energy projects with valid ATRs, representing a total capacity of 78,094 MW (roughly 4 times the total installed capacity of Romania). Hence, there is a clear need to unblock the grid and make it available to promising projects that can be implemented in a timely manner in order to ensure the boost of generation capacity that Romania really needs on short and medium term.

At the same time, overly strict grid connection requirements may concentrate access, potentially sidelining smaller/independent developers focused on delivering real value projects too. The high financial values and tight terms under the current version of the Draft Regulation might thus be challenging for some developers, which would need to carefully (re)consider their strategy going forward.

Striking the right balance will be essential to ensure the regulatory framework promotes both timely project development and a diverse, competitive renewable energy market. It remains to be seen if tighter grid connection rules will be the desirable efficient tool needed to speed up the commissioning of new capacities.