ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Miruna Suciu, Suciu Partners
1. Structure and Ownership of the Power Industry 1.1 Law Governing the Structure and Ownership of the Power Industry Romania’s electricity sector follows the EU unbun- dling model and is regulated mainly by Electricity and Natural Gas Law No 123/2012, together with secondary legislation issued by the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE). The market is structured around separate activities: generation, storage, trans- mission, distribution, supply and trading. Generation and storage are open to private investment and are carried out by both state-owned companies and private operators. This is also the area where most recent investment activity has been seen, particu- larly in photovoltaic, wind and battery energy stor- age projects. In practice, developers and investors must look beyond the energy licence itself, as projects usually depend on land rights, zoning, construction permits, grid connection, environmental approvals, financing arrangements and, increasingly, power pur- chase agreements. Transmission is a regulated natu- ral monopoly operated by C.N.T.E.E. Transelectrica SA, the Romanian transmission and system opera- tor, in which the Romanian State remains the majority shareholder. Transelectrica operates and develops the national transmission grid and is responsible for sys- tem security, balancing and cross-border interconnec- tion. Distribution is also a regulated network activity and is carried out under concession arrangements for defined geographical areas, where distribution opera- tors are licensed and regulated by ANRE, including in relation to tariffs, service standards, network access and investment obligations. Supply is a competitive activity where licensed suppliers may sell electricity to final consumers throughout Romania, and consumers are generally free to choose and change their supplier under the applicable market rules. 1.2 Principal State-Owned or Investor-Owned Entities The Romanian electricity sector includes both state- controlled and privately owned operators, where, on the generation side, the principal state-controlled companies include Hidroelectrica, the largest hydro- power producer in Romania; Nuclearelectrica, which operates the Cernavoda nuclear power plant; and
Complexul Energetic Oltenia, which remains relevant for coal-based generation during the transition peri- od. Other important producers include OMV Petrom, through the Brazi gas-fired power plant, as well as private and international investors active in renewable generation, including PPC Renewables, ENGIE, Econ- ergy, Greenvolt, Premier Energy and other developers of photovoltaic, wind and storage projects. Transmis- sion is operated by C.N.T.E.E. Transelectrica SA, the national transmission and system operator, where the Romanian State remains the majority shareholder, while the company is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange. Distribution is carried out by licensed oper- ators in defined concession areas, the main distribu- tion operators being Rețele Electrice Romania, part of PPC Group, Distribuție Energie Electrică Romania, part of Electrica Group, Delgaz Grid, part of E.ON Group, and Distribuție Energie Oltenia. The supply market is competitive and includes both state-con- trolled and privately owned suppliers, where the main suppliers to end consumers include Hidroelectrica, Electrica Furnizare, PPC Energie and PPC Energie Muntenia, E.ON Energie Romania, ENGIE Romania and Premier Energy, alongside several other licensed suppliers active in the commercial, industrial and pro- sumer-related segments. 1.3 Foreign Investment Review Process Foreign investment in the Romanian power sector is generally permitted, and there are no broad for- eign ownership restrictions applying specifically to electricity generation, storage, supply or trading. In practice, however, acquisitions and investments in energy projects may be subject to foreign direct investment screening, as energy infrastructure, stor- age and certain technologies are treated as sensitive from a national security and public order perspec- tive. The Romanian FDI regime is mainly governed by Government Emergency Ordinance No 46/2022, as amended, implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/452, meaning that investments exceeding EUR5 million may require prior clearance if they concern sensitive sectors. Investments below this threshold may also be reviewed where they may affect national security, public order or projects or programmes of EU inter- est. The filing is made before implementation and is reviewed by the Commission for the Examination of Direct Investments (CEISD), where a transaction may
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