The Government has created the legal framework under which Transelectrica, through the National Power Dispatch Centre, may limit in stages the consumption of large economic operators covered by the specific regulation, between 19:00 and 23:00, if developments in the National Power System require such an intervention. The mechanism may be applied until August 31 and does not target household consumers.

The measure does not imply an automatic reduction in industrial consumption. Consumption limitation is the final stage in a sequence of interventions provided for deficit situations: increasing operational reserves, starting generating units held in technical reserve, reducing or cancelling interconnection capacity for exports and reducing notified exchanges in the export direction. Only if these measures prove insufficient may consumption limitation between 19:00 and 23:00 be activated.

The regulation applies exclusively to large energy-consuming economic operators, but the list of companies and their allocation by limitation stages have not been disclosed. By profile, large energy consumers mainly come from energy-intensive industries such as steel and metallurgy, chemicals, cement, glass or paper. Examples of companies with large industrial sites and significant energy consumption include Saint-Gobain România, Holcim România, Heidelberg Materials România or Chimcomplex. These examples merely illustrate the type of industrial operator that may have high energy consumption and do not mean that these companies are included in the Consumption Limitation Regulation applicable in August 2026.

The decision comes amid hydrological and generation stress. On August 7, the Ministry of Energy issued an early warning to the European Commission and the competent authorities of EU Member States, under the European Regulation on risk-preparedness in the electricity sector. According to the ministry’s communication, the persistence of unfavourable hydrological conditions could even lead to Unit 2 at Cernavodă becoming unavailable. The warning is expected to remain active until conditions on the Danube improve and, according to the forecasts cited at the time, not before August 15.

In parallel, Romania has also formalised the institutional structure for managing a potential crisis. Order No. 813/2026 of the Minister of Energy establishes the National Operational Centre for the Energy Sector (CONSE), a structure coordinated by the Ministry of Energy and responsible for declaring crisis situations on the electricity market. CONSE includes, among others, representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Transelectrica, Hidroelectrica, Nuclearelectrica, Transgaz, OMV Petrom, Romgaz, Complexul Energetic Oltenia and distribution system operators.