ROMANIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Miruna Suciu, Suciu Partners
2. Market Structure, Supply and Pricing 2.1 The Wholesale Electricity Market
1.7 Announcements Regarding New Policies Several policy initiatives are expected to have a material impact on the Romanian power sector, the most relevant being the Energy Strategy of Roma- nia for 2025–35, with an outlook to 2050, which sets the direction for security of supply, decarbonisation, renewable energy, nuclear energy, storage, grid devel- opment and regional interconnection. The strategy is intended to guide future legislation, public investment and support schemes in the sector, while Romania is also continuing the implementation of the contracts for difference framework for renewable energy projects. Following the first auction rounds, further measures are expected to support the financing and delivery of new wind and solar generation capacity. Offshore wind is another area of focus, since Romania adopted a dedicated offshore wind law in 2024, and the next material step will be the secondary legislation and pro- cedures required for concessioning, permitting, grid connection and development of Black Sea offshore wind projects, alongside public authority measures aimed at accelerating grid investments and integrat- ing storage capacity. 1.8 Unique Aspects of the Power Industry A distinctive feature of the Romanian power sector is the combination of a relatively diversified genera- tion mix and a rapidly expanding renewable energy pipeline, where Romania benefits from significant hydro and nuclear generation, while also attracting substantial private investment in photovoltaic, wind and battery energy storage projects. At the same time, the market is shaped by practical constraints that are particularly relevant for investors, meaning that grid connection capacity, land rights, zoning, removal of land from agricultural use, environmental permitting and project bankability are often as important as the energy regulatory framework itself, making Romanian power projects highly multidisciplinary from a legal perspective. Another specific feature is the renewed focus on strategic energy projects, including new renewable capacity supported by contracts for differ- ence, the development of storage, grid reinforcement, nuclear projects and the potential development of off- shore wind in the Black Sea, where execution risk and regulatory coordination remain critical.
Romania has a competitive wholesale electricity market, organised mainly around trading platforms operated by OPCOM, the Romanian electricity and gas market operator. Wholesale electricity is trad- ed through several market segments, including the day-ahead market, the intraday market, centralised bilateral contract markets and the balancing market, where prices are generally formed through competi- tive offers and bids rather than direct price regula- tion, although exceptional intervention measures may apply in periods of market stress. Romania operates an energy-only market and does not currently have a fully developed capacity market comparable to those in certain other European jurisdictions, while system balancing and ancillary services are managed by Transelectrica, the transmission and system opera- tor, under the applicable market rules. The Romanian market does not use nodal pricing, functioning as a bidding zone within the European internal electricity market, with prices determined at market level and congestion managed through the applicable network and cross-border capacity allocation mechanisms. High-load consumers, including data centres and large industrial consumers, are generally treated under the standard regulatory framework applicable to final consumers, their key practical issues usually being grid connection capacity, timing of connection works, network reinforcement costs, electricity sourcing and contractual arrangements, including bilateral supply contracts and corporate PPAs. 2.2 Electricity Imports and Exports Electricity imports and exports are permitted and form an important part of Romania’s participation in the European internal electricity market, as Roma- nia is interconnected with Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova through a num- ber of cross-border transmission lines operated by Transelectrica and neighbouring transmission system operators. Cross-border electricity trading is carried out within the framework of EU market coupling mech- anisms and the applicable network codes. Access to interconnection capacity is generally obtained through market-based allocation mechanisms rath-
294 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook