Romania is consulting on a draft emergency ordinance that would let grid operators offer flexible connections where new capacity is limited or unavailable. The Energy Ministry published the proposal on 4 November; it would allow generators, storage operators and consumers to connect before obtaining all the firm capacity they seek.
Under the draft, transmission operator Transelectrica and distribution companies could enter into flexible connection agreements. Romania’s energy regulator, ANRE, would set the framework and decide when flexible access could be used permanently instead of requiring network expansion judged uneconomic.
Terms would define access and limits
Each agreement would separate reliably available electricity injection or withdrawal capacity from additional capacity available only during specified periods. Agreements would also set network and connection tariffs, their duration and the expected date for full firm access.
Users would pay for certified power-control equipment capable of enforcing the agreed limits. The proposal also calls for clear criteria to convert flexible agreements into firm ones once the grid is developed. ANRE could allow flexible arrangements to continue indefinitely where it considers reinforcement less efficient, including for electricity storage.
Connection certainty affects project finance
A flexible connection could bring an asset to market earlier, but leave it exposed to lower output and more volatile revenue over its operating life. Two projects with identical installed capacity could have different income prospects if one has firm export rights and the other faces restrictions during valuable trading hours.
Banks would need more detailed simulations of available dispatch windows, curtailment and contracted revenue before treating flexible access as bankable capacity. The draft would require network operators to publish information on connection capacity and the availability of flexible arrangements at least quarterly.
Applications could be made online, and operators would have to respond on the status and handling of connection requests within three months. Regularly updated disclosures could help buyers assess connection rights during project acquisitions, but published availability would not itself guarantee access.
Licences and regional implications
A separate provision would allow temporary commercial licences for new or refurbished generation and storage facilities for up to 60 days after commissioning acceptance. The licences would be subject to technical certification and wholesale-market rules. They could shorten the gap between technical completion and initial sales, without removing connection or balancing obligations.
Investors in Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Hungary face similar issues involving capacity reservations, network constraints and commissioning risk. Romania’s proposal could provide a regional benchmark, but would not change the legal rights of projects across its borders.
The ordinance remains a consultation proposal. Its effect will depend on the adopted text, ANRE’s methodology, the quality of grid-availability disclosures and lenders’ ability to quantify non-firm network access.
