The energy market arbitrator has discussed a new order, in decisional transparency, by which it eliminates guarantees for existing parks that add new storage units, according to the substantiation note consulted by Energynomics. Thus, existing parks, beneficiaries of contracts for difference (CfD) and those that do not increase the installed power of the project are exempted.
The financial guarantee is in the amount of 30 EUR/kW related to the installed electrical power of the energy capacity according to the data provided in the technical connection approval, the Order states.
“After the approval of the Order of the President of ANRE no. 16/2026, the electricity market was faced with the occurrence of a force majeure event, an exceptional, external and unpredictable event, against the background of the very low flow of the Danube, which generated the adoption of the Decision of the National Committee for Emergency Situations no. 15/2026 of July 31, 2026 on the declaration of a state of alert at the level of Romania in order to manage the effects generated by the decrease in electricity production and in the context of the hydrometeorological situation and, subsequently, in order to properly balance the system to ensure safe and stable operation, in view of the prospect of continuing the process of reducing energy resources in the system as a result of the maintenance of unfavorable weather conditions, Government Decision no. 603 of August 7, 2026 was adopted on the adoption of safety measures on the electricity market. In this context, it became imperative to establish commercial measures that stimulate the capacity “The National Electroenergetic System to replace the electricity that will no longer be produced in the event of situations of this nature,” the ANRE document states.
“A measure within the area of responsibility of ANRE is to stimulate the authorization process of energy capacities with the predominant role of balancing the system (namely electricity storage facilities), when additional production, imports and other available resources will not be sufficient and the situation of the energy system would require their intervention, as a form of national reserve. In this context, the exemption from the establishment of a financial guarantee for storage facilities added to production sites constitutes a measure to encourage the integration of storage systems within production capacities and to stimulate investments for the development of such projects, consequently contributing to increasing flexibility and improving the safety and security in the operation of electricity networks, in the current context of the energy situation characterized by deficient electricity production. In this regard, it is taken into account that, in the case of hybrid projects consisting of production sites equipped with storage facilities, the electricity produced can be stored locally, without being discharged at the time of its production into the electricity transmission or distribution network”, the document continues.
“Thus, the storage facilities within the hybrid projects allow the management of the produced electricity over time and the adaptation of the moment of its evacuation into the network depending on the production and consumption conditions, thus contributing to the limitation of the peaks of the evacuated power and the more efficient use of the available network capacity. Under these conditions, in order to encourage the development of the hybrid projects mentioned above, the measure of applying the financial guarantee determined by reference to the value of the installed power of the new energy capacity added within the hybrid project, with the exception of the added storage facility, is considered sufficient. Given that the purpose of introducing the financial guarantee for issuing the establishment authorization was to select investment projects that demonstrate economic viability, it is considered sufficient to establish this guarantee only for the production facility, part of the hybrid project. This measure is accompanied by the development of the Procedure regarding the establishment, execution and refund/release of the financial guarantee provided for in art. 19¹ of the Regulation, a document that provides clarifications regarding the implementation application of the legal provisions relating to its establishment, execution and return/release. At the same time, the harmonization of the content of all regulations developed by ANRE on this topic is aimed at, which determines the need to amend the provisions of the Regulation approved by ANRE Order no. 6/2025, in order to eliminate any discrepancies that could hinder the process of interpretation and implementation of the regulatory framework developed by ANRE”.
The draft order also shows the exempted categories
The draft stipulates that “the procedure applies to natural and legal persons, Romanian or foreign, who request the granting, modification in the sense of adding energy capacities or the extension of the validity of establishment authorizations as a result of the failure to complete the investment project within the validity period of the establishment authorization, under the terms of the Regulation, except for the situations provided for in point II paragraph (1) of the Order of the President of ANRE no. 16/2026 on the modification and completion of the Regulation for the granting of licenses and authorizations in the electricity sector, approved by the Order of the President of the National Regulatory Authority for Energy no. 6/2025, respectively to applications concerning: a) establishment authorizations for the construction/refurbishment of energy capacities for the production of electricity, whose applicants provide proof of the establishment of a performance guarantee within a contract for difference concluded according to the law, an exception that applies to the entire installed capacity of the project investment beneficiary CfD, not only for the contracted party; b) establishment authorizations for the construction of storage facilities added to electricity production capacities, related to the same production/consumption site; c) establishment authorizations for the retrofitting of energy capacities that do not involve an increase in the installed electrical power according to the data in the technical connection approval”, according to ANRE.
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