Romania updates grid connection rules

Romania’s energy regulator ANRE has formalized a reform of its grid connection framework. It follows a consultation into new grid connection rules that ran earlier this year.

Under the new framework, which came into force at the start of June, solution studies must be completed in chronological order, with only fully documented projects placed in the queue. This rule also applies to developers who had submitted connection requests but had not yet signed contracts for the preparation of the study as of the start of June.

Following the introduction of a financial guarantee before the issuance of a grid connection permit in August 2024, ANRE’s latest update gives developers a two-month window to set up the financial guarantee with the network operator after receiving an approved solution study. If this deadline is not met, the solution study becomes invalid and the connection request will be closed.

Bucharest-based law firm Vlăsceanu & Partners said the financial guarantee’s effectiveness in preventing non-committed investors from blocking grid capacity has so far been limited. The firm added that this two-month deadline should reinforce the credibility and efficiency of the connection process.

The updated framework also features a timeline for signing a grid connection agreement. Developers must request to sign the connection agreement at least 45 days before their grid connection approval (ATR) expires. If the submitted documents are incomplete, the network operator can request additional documents within 10 calendar days, before the developer is required to provide the missing information at least 15 calendar days before the ATR expires.

If the developer does not complete the documentation within this time frame, the ATR will expire, and the network operator will no longer be required to send a draft grid connection contract and can enforce the financial guarantee.

ANRE's latest update also stipulates that a grid connection agreement can be extended by mutual agreement but only in 12-month increments, with each requiring an additional 5% financial guarantee based on the connection fee. This new provision, which also applies to extension requests submitted before June 1, has been designed to respond to grid congestion issues.

Daniel Vlasceanu, partner at Vlăsceanu & Partners, told pv magazine that there are around 70 ATRs issued after Aug. 2, 2024, that are being closely monitored by Romania’s electricity transmission system operator, Transelectrica. He said if these projects are canceled, it would release around 3.5 GW in capacity.

Vlasceanu added that over the long term, these latest regulatory reforms “will lead to more certainty and clarity for serious investors.”

“Those who are certain of their project but meet delays outside of their control have the possibility to extend the terms under the connection agreement, but only by putting down additional grid bonds and not by bringing rather simple justifications, as has been done so far in practice,” he explained. “Given the current state of the market, which is flooded with good but more ‘not-so-good’ projects for sale, the general tendency reflected in the changes can only be beneficial to the market.”

Romania installed 1.7 GW of solar in 2024, pushing the country’s cumulative solar capacity to almost 5 GW. The country’s second renewables auction, offering 3.47 GW of capacity including 1.47 GW of solar, was launched in May 2025.

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