Emergency Ordinance no. 143/2021 (“GEO 143”) entered into force end of the previous year and amends the Romanian Electricity and Gas Law no. 123/2012 (“Energy Law”) and the Law on the Promotion of Electricity from Renewable Sources no. 220/2008, aiming, among others, the transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/944 into national law.

Below some of the most important changes of GEO 143:

1. The so called “organized electricity market” includes meanwhile over-the-counter markets and power exchanges, markets for trading energy, capacity, balancing and system services in all time periods, as well as forward, day-ahead and intraday markets;

2. Directly negotiated bilateral electricity selling agreements in the wholesale electricity market are allowed;

3. Supplier and the end user may freely agree the electricity supply price, subject to certain conditions according to the Energy Law;

4. Depending on the capacity of the electricity generation plant, a feed-in tariff or quantitative compensation has been provided for prosumers. Electricity suppliers are obliged to apply quantitative compensation in the bill of prosumers with whom they have concluded electricity supply contracts, charging only the difference between the electricity consumption from the grid and the amount of energy generated and fed into the grid, upon request of prosumers owning electricity facilities with an installed capacity of up to 200 kW. Such compensation will be applied until December 31, 2030. Furthermore, upon request of such prosumers, electricity suppliers are also obliged to purchase electricity at the weighted average price registered on the Day Ahead Market for the month in which the respective energy was generated;

5. Dynamic prices in contracts between a supplier and an end customer reflecting price fluctuations on spot markets, including day-ahead and intraday markets were regulated;

6. The sale of electricity purchased from an electricity supplier and consumed by a battery-charging station operator does not constitute electricity supply;

7. Universal service no longer includes the supply of electricity to non-household customers, who could benefit under certain conditions from this service under the old.

These legislative changes set the premise for new investments in on-site production and consumption, as well as increasing grid independence and reduced electricity costs.

The Parliament shall approve GEO 143 by means of a bill, with or without further amendments. Secondary legislation is to be enacted by ANRE within the next 6 months from the publication of GEO 143.

Please find more detailed information under: https://stalfort.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/20220201_NEWSFLASH_Wind-of-change-in-Romanian-energy-law.pdf