Romania’s energy authority amends electricity grid capacity allocation mechanism

On 16 December 2025, Romania’s National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) adopted Order No. 79/2025, amending and supplementing Order No. 53/2024. The new regulation, Order 79, updates the Methodology for allocating electricity network capacity for the connection of electricity generation facilities and introduces important clarifications affecting grid access and auction procedures.

Order 79 confirms that electricity network capacity will be allocated through competitive auctions for the following categories of projects with an installed capacity of 5 MW or more:

• new electricity generation facilities;
• increases in evacuation capacity for additional generation or storage units installed at existing generation or generation/consumption sites;
• connection of generation or storage facilities to existing consumption sites.

Crucially, the Methodology does not apply to requests for electricity consumption capacity from the grid related to these projects.

Order 79 clarifies the connection requests that fall under the revised Methodology, which begins 1 January 2026. From this date, the Methodology applies to all requests for electricity network capacity allocation relating to electricity generation sites and combined generation and consumption sites with an installed capacity of at least 5 MW, provided the request is registered with the relevant grid operator on or after 1 January 2026.

The Methodology will also apply to projects registered before 1 January 2026 if:

• the required solution studies have not been submitted by 31 December 2025; or
• the solution studies were submitted by 31 December 2025, but the Technical Connection Permit (ATR) is not issued by 30 June 2026.

For connection requests registered before 1 January 2026 where solution studies were not submitted by 31 December 2025, grid operators are required to fully reimburse users for the amounts paid in the preparation of these studies. The reimbursement must be completed by 1 March 2026.

Order 79 significantly revises the timetable for the first capacity allocation auctions, introducing the following milestone dates:

• 30 June 2026 – Transelectrica (the Transmission System Operator or TSO) publishes the available grid capacity;
• 14 July 2026 – submission of capacity allocation applications;
• 20 July 2026 – distribution System Operators (DSOs) forward applications to the TSO;
• 24 July 2026 – finalisation of the list of eligible applications by the TSO;
• 23 October 2026 – completion of a global solution study identifying necessary grid reinforcement works;
• 23 October 2026 – publication of the study’s conclusions, available capacity, auction prices, and auction dates;
• 30 October 2026 – daily bidding sessions begin. Bidders may request capacity for one year at a time, within the overall ten-year allocation period.

Order 79 also specifies that additional grid reinforcement works financed through the auction-based capacity allocation mechanism cannot be reclassified as general reinforcement works at the expense of users operating projects with an installed capacity of less than 5 MW.

A regulatory deadline that falls on a non-working day or public holiday will be automatically extended to the next working day, providing a degree of procedural certainty for project developers.

Order 79 represents a step toward a more transparent and competitive electricity allocation network in Romania. The new framework, however, introduces strict deadlines and procedural requirements that may materially affect project timelines and investment strategies.

Developers and investors with projects at or above the 5 MW threshold should carefully assess whether their projects fall within the scope of the auction mechanism and take timely action to secure grid access.

Early legal and regulatory planning will be essential to mitigate risks and protect project viability.

For more information on Order 79 and competitive electricity allocation in Romania, contact your CMS client partner or the CMS experts who wrote this article: Varinia Radu, Raluca Diaconeasa and Ada Romanti.