The lack of a Government that expresses a clear political will in the long term and after a pertinent dialogue with investors and the lack of an integrated strategy between various segments of the economy, which takes into account all sectors of the economy, will further destabilize the market and delay investments, say leaders of companies present at the Energy Strategy Summit 2026.
A brief survey, conducted among the participants at the event, reiterated the idea that the Tomac government, proposed by President Nicușor Dan, will not receive the support of Parliament, and the government crisis will deepen. This will lead to the delay of some projects and strategies, as well as delays in the adoption of regulatory acts that the market desperately needs.
Investors say Romania should take their opinion into account, as there is already a series of projects in delay, and competing countries with a more permissive bureaucracy could benefit from investments more easily, to the detriment of Romania.
Renewables and the reduction of energy prices: The Spanish model was invoked
Cătălin Stancu, Associated Senior Expert, Horváth, argues that Romania does not need to reinvent the wheel, but can take as an example the Spanish model, where energy is already much cheaper, after the launch of tens of GW of renewable energy, especially solar, on the market. Natural gas produces 20% of Europe’s energy, but is responsible for 70% of the price formation, says Cătălin Stancu. “We are very similar in terms of mix, but today the price per MWh in Spain is 60 euros, while in Romania it is 110 euros.” He explained that the LCOE (project cost compared to the final price of electricity – ed) is the lowest in the case of solar energy, and Spain has increased its capacities more than eightfold in the last eight years.
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According to the IEA, Spain has experienced an exponential solar boom since 2018, adding about 45 GW of new photovoltaic capacity. Total installed solar capacity has increased from just under 5 GW in 2018 to a historic high of over 50 in early 2026, officially making it the country’s leading technology in terms of installed power capacity.
If we don’t look at solutions, LCOE, long-term planning and marginal cost of entry, a low energy price will probably remain a desideratum, says Stancu.
For his part, Liviu Gavrilă, RWEA vice president and CEO for Romania of Energy, says that although there are delays, it is good that there are projects and that they are being implemented.
“If we talk to representatives of banks, EPC builders, each of them has an impressive backlog (projects still in development – n.r.). If we look at all the players, but also investors, even from private funds, we have interconnection projects, we have investments in all technologies”, he said.
Europe has the chance to help all member states through deep integration, but “it is about a lot of political will”, Liviu Gavrilă also said.
Gavrilă claims that the market design part or the way in which costs are socialized is deficient, and the market lacks the absence of flexibility services – which needs a better understanding from decision-makers and better training of specialists.
“We can’t do things any other way than by building more renewables on the grid,” also argues Cristian Dragomir, CEO, Waldevar Energy. Even if they put pressure on the system (SEN), they can create opportunities and new market mechanisms.
“Transelectrica (and other players n.r.) is somewhat open to adapting as much as possible the way in which generation sources are controlled,” Cristian Dragomir also said.
Current costs are permissive
Today, renewable installation costs are much more permissive than a few years ago, says Mirel Jarnea, Business Development Manager SEE, LONGi Solar, which has 0.7 GW of projects in the pipeline.
“Today’s growth is massive. Nine years ago, an installed MW (of solar-n.r.) cost 1-1.5 million euros, while today it costs 500,000 euros. We started integrating batteries because the costs have also dropped massively – from 900,000 – 1 million euros a few years ago, to 150-160,000 euros today,” says Mirel Jarnea. “We should not compare ourselves with Spain, because when it was 1 million euros or more per MW they already had 2,000 or so hours of production, while now we have 1,100-1,200, but the fact that we are working on 1.5-2GW of photovoltaic modules across the market I think says a lot about where we are heading, my question every day is ‘when will we stop’?” said Mirel Jarnea.
He says that Europe must also take into account China’s foreign policy, which is no longer willing to lose money and has aligned costs, while Europe is no longer willing to make any compromises. And the next two years are crucial, as after 2027 the market looks set to stagnate across Europe.
The need for investment in networks
Without sufficient investment in networks, the benefits of renewable energy and new technologies risk being blocked, say all the investors present at the event.
Not because of a lack of energy, but because of a lack of capacity to transport energy where and when it is needed, says Dana Dărăban, executive director of ACUE – the Federation of Romanian Utility Companies Associations. “Until a few years ago, the risk that all these investments could be integrated was not taken into account, and investments in networks come very late. We must bear in mind that in addition to new technologies, the new paradigm of the energy system, all the changes imposed by the new mode of consumption and production, we have to recover – and it is not a local issue, but a global one. I would like to get out of this rut of discourse that leaves no room for appropriate and constructive decisions, because – to put it very diplomatically – I notice a polarization again, in the sense that the operators, that is, the investors, have a very well-defined opinion, which they justify and have behind them all kinds of studies that claim that this regulatory framework on which they are dependent is not encouraging and cannot ensure the necessary level of distribution in the network, and on the other hand we have the Romanian state through the representatives and institutions in the sector, who say that this regulatory framework is very appropriate and that the decision belongs to each operator. I believe that it is a very big mistake if we stumble once again, as a country, in this speech. Because the correct signal that we must take into account is the market signal, that is, the signal of investors”, said Dana Dărăban.
Otherwise, Romania risks continuing to lose projects, she added.
She claims that there is a perception that investments in networks are a major factor in increasing bills. In reality, price increases in recent years have been generated almost exclusively by the energy component, by prices on wholesale markets. Network costs represent only a limited part of the final bill.
Moreover, without investments in networks, reducing the total costs of the energy system is an illusion. We need to double the level of investments in networks at the national level to allow the integration of a greater amount of renewable energy, to reduce the waste of green energy, to limit the need for backup plants, the head of ACUE also pointed out.
Grids contribute to long-term price stabilization
The first big challenge for grids, not only in Romania, but globally, is congestion.
We can think of the grid as a highway. If traffic increases and the infrastructure remains the same, bottlenecks appear. This is exactly what is happening today in many European energy systems.
The example of the Netherlands is relevant. The rapid development of renewables and electrification have generated severe congestion, with direct effects on the economy: postponed industrial projects, renewable capacities that cannot be connected, and economic costs in the order of billions of euros.
The message is clear: the cost of underinvestment is much higher than the cost of investment, namely 6-8 times higher, according to a study by Boston Consulting for the Netherlands, explained Dana Dărăban.
The second challenge is flexibility.
We cannot build new infrastructure for every consumption peak. We also need tools that use the existing infrastructure more efficiently.
Flexibility means the ability of consumers, prosumers, batteries and aggregators to adapt consumption or production according to the needs of the system. It is the equivalent of moving part of the traffic outside peak hours.
This approach reduces congestion, allows for more efficient integration of renewable energy and postpones expensive investments in infrastructure.
But flexibility cannot exist without digitalization. And here a new challenge arises: you cannot manage the traffic of a city without traffic lights, sensors and cameras. Likewise, you cannot operate a modern grid without data and without visibility into consumption.
Smart meters and digital systems are not just tools for reading the index. They are the data infrastructure that enables dynamic tariffs, flexibility services, the integration of prosumers and real-time congestion management.
It is encouraging that there are initiatives to accelerate the implementation of smart metering systems. However, to fully capitalize on these investments, a regulatory framework is also needed that allows for the rapid development of software solutions and associated services, concluded Dana Dărăban.
Energy Strategy Summit 2026 is organised by Energynomics, with the support of our partners: Elektra Renewable Support, 4P Renewables, ABB, Alive Capital, Atmoce, Baringa, BCR, Big Store, Capalo AI, CBRE Romania, Distribuție Energie Electrică România, Eastship, Distributie Oltenia parte din Evryo, Eaton Electric, Electrica Furnizare, Electroalfa, Electroprecizia, EnergoBit, Enery, Enexus, Eurowind, Evryo, Exim Banca Romaneasca, Hagag Energy, KStar, LONGi, MBK Power Energy, MET Romania Energy, Monsson Trading, Nextpower, OX2, Romgaz, Schraubram, Sigenergy, Softenerg WEBUS 4 ENERGY, Solar Today, Sunotec, TBEA, Think Blu Solution, Transelectrica, Waldevar Energy, WTW Romania. Coffee Break Partner Enerta. Lanyard Partner Monsson Operation. Beverage Partners Aqua Carpatica, Alexandrion. Digital Partner Imsol. Mobility Partner BlackCab.
