The connection guarantee increases from 5% to 20% of the value of the connection tariff and a new guarantee is established for participation in capacity allocation auctions, informs the National Energy Regulatory Authority, through a press release.
In addition, according to the cited source, establishment authorizations will no longer be able to be obtained and extended except with financial guarantees.
“Following the public debate on the draft order amending the Connection Regulation and following the constant discussions held between the Prime Minister of Romania, Ilie Bolojan, and the President of ANRE, George Niculescu, the National Energy Regulatory Authority will publish for public consultation, on Monday, April 27, 2026, the new form of the draft amending the regulations on connection to the networks. This form contains a different philosophy for investors interested in electricity production, establishing several levels of financial guarantees and several safety measures that the projects will be completed,” the press release states.
ANRE will also amend the Regulation for granting licenses and authorizations in the electricity sector, by establishing a guarantee that must be provided by the applicant at the time of requesting the Establishment Authorization or at the time of its extension, if it is already issued at present and the project is not completed.
“That is, we make sure that we have real MW, connected to the grid, not MW on paper. And we also make sure that we stop get-rich-quick schemes on online retail platforms. The energy transition is not done with projects sold on OLX,” said ANRE President George Niculescu, quoted in the press release.
The most important changes that the new Connection Regulation proposes are: the establishment of a guarantee of 20 euros per installed kilowatt, which will be submitted so that the applicant can participate in the auction for the allocation of available connection capacities for new energy production and storage projects in the fall of this year (this guarantee will be released or executed upon completion of the auction); the establishment of a guarantee of 20% of the value of the connection tariff that must be established after the applicant submits the connection application and the solution study is developed and approved by the operator.
ANRE will also amend the Regulation on granting licenses and authorizations, by establishing a guarantee of 30 euros per installed kilowatt that must be provided at the time of requesting the Establishment Authorization, as a condition for obtaining it. For Establishment Authorizations that are already issued at this time, the guarantee of 30 euros per installed kilowatt will have to be provided if the beneficiary does not complete the investment within the validity period and requests ANRE to extend the Establishment Authorization. This guarantee is issued at the time of completion of the investment.
These amendments pursue two goals simultaneously: reducing the “stock” of ATRs currently existing, given that if the beneficiaries do not complete the investments within the validity period, they will request the extension of the Establishment Authorizations and will have to deposit the guarantee of 30 euros per installed kilowatt; the firm discouragement of the speculative nature of projects, by establishing increased financial filters for both the connection and authorization processes, is emphasized in the press release.
“We have carefully analyzed the proposals sent by the Romanian Government and what the market said. Yesterday (Thursday, ed.) I had a working meeting with Prime Minister Bolojan, in which I proposed the amendments to the two Regulations, the introduction of new financial filters, and the increase in guarantees for the connection process. For the value of 20 euros per installed kilowatt of these guarantees, we were inspired by the value of the guarantees that beneficiaries must submit for the auctions carried out by the Ministry of Energy in the case of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) aid scheme. So, we have taken over a good practice already existing in the industry. Then, we will increase the existing guarantees for the connection tariff from 5% to 20% of its value, precisely to avoid the risk of another speculative wave of ATRs. Perhaps the most important change that puts an end to the get-rich-quick schemes on OLX with energy projects is the introduction of a guarantee of 30 euros per kilowatt as a condition for obtaining the Authorization Establishment or for its extension, if we are talking about an Authorization already issued, but which the beneficiary wants to extend. It is the most extensive reform of the connection and licensing mechanisms that ANRE is implementing”, explained George Niculescu.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Friday, at Europa FM, that the list of energy producers that have obtained authorizations to connect to the grid will be made public, according to Agerpres.
He mentioned that not all companies that obtained ATRs (technical connection approval) did so with the intention of “speculating” and explained, however, that when there are delays of several years in implementation, these are projects that block energy production.
“When it is seen that you have done nothing for years, it means that you have only speculated. But there may also be objective situations in which, due to the delay in some approvals – at the Aeronautical Authority, at the Environment – you can have delays. But that means a few months. You cannot have these delays for years. Without putting anathema on one area or another, it is unacceptable to allow such a situation that practically blocks the production of additional energy in Romania”, the prime minister specified.
Ilie Bolojan said that he had started a “war” with those who “blocked access” to the energy systems.
“We need about 9,000 Megawatts a day. If we had another 1,000 – 2,000 Megawatts of additional production, it would be great, because it would lower prices. But we have issued connection documents for 80,000 Megawatts, far beyond our capacity. And they still have another 30,000 Megawatts in the kitchen,” he said.
The prime minister also announced that on Monday two regulations aimed at supporting serious projects and canceling those aimed only at blocking access will be made public. In parallel, the government will prepare primary legislation in the field.
“I had a meeting with the president of ANRE and we agreed that on Monday we would make two regulations that establish guarantees, impose firm deadlines and establish clear conditions for disengagement transparent, so that only serious projects remain, and those that are just paper work, to block access and possibly be sold, to be canceled. And in parallel, the Government will prepare primary legislation, so that if a solution is not reached as clearly as possible, through regulations, we will impose this through primary legislation”, the head of the Executive said.
Ilie Bolojan stressed that ANRE must impose guarantees, “so that serious investors are maintained”, not those who “just did paper work”, to block access to the transmission and distribution networks.