The Association of Prosumers and Energy Communities in Romania (APCE) threatens to seek the suspension of the regulations developed by ANRE for the implementation of the new Prosumer Law in court. The association argues that the document under public consultation dilutes the rights granted by law and leaves important decisions in the hands of energy suppliers.
Prosumers’ representatives also complain about the size, but especially the complexity of the project: a law that fits on approximately half a page is accompanied by 61 pages of regulations, with numerous references from one article to another.
"A law written in a few lines has become a labyrinth of 61 pages of regulations, which almost no prosumer can decipher," APCE states in a press release.
The project was published by the National Energy Regulatory Authority on August 20 and is currently under public consultation. Therefore, the regulations are not in their final form.
What rights would be diluted
Law 160/2026, which came into force on July 26, brings several important changes for prosumers: monthly compensation for the energy delivered to the grid, the possibility of using surplus to pay the natural gas bill, and the right to choose between different compensation mechanisms.
However, APCE claims that the regulations developed by ANRE bureaucratize these mechanisms and allow suppliers to influence payment terms.
The association especially criticizes the interpretation of monthly quantitative compensation – the mechanism by which the energy produced and delivered to the grid is deducted from the energy consumed. According to APCE, the ANRE project allows suppliers to set the deadline for paying the amounts owed to prosumers.
Moreover, the full implementation of some of the new mechanisms would be postponed until 2027, although the law is already in force.
"The issue is not a technical detail. An implementing regulation issued by a regulatory authority is not allowed to change the will of the legislator. Yet, this seems to be exactly what has happened," state the association's representatives.
Harsh accusations against ANRE
The President of APCE, Dan Pîrșan, accuses ANRE of drafting the project in favor of supply companies.
"These regulations do not seem to be written by an impartial regulatory authority. In my opinion, they show the bad faith of a regulator who is no longer an arbiter in the energy market but has become an active player on the side of suppliers. It's as if the suppliers wrote these regulations and sent them to ANRE for publication," he alleges.
APCE announces that if the project is not changed following the public consultation, it will request the suspension of the ANRE order in administrative litigation. The association intends to seek support from the European Commission and the parliamentarians who voted for the law.
Approximately 370,000 prosumers targeted
According to APCE, there are approximately 370,000 prosumers in Romania, who have invested over 2.7 billion euros in photovoltaic panels and storage systems.
The association points out that they also contribute to the stability of the energy system, especially in periods when domestic production does not cover consumption. In a recent call from APCE, several battery owners injected energy into the national grid between 7:00 pm and 11:00 pm, when photovoltaic production decreases but consumption remains high.
"For prosumers, a law enacted means nothing if the implementing regulations turn it into a promise indefinitely postponed and subject to the will and desire of energy suppliers," says Dan Pîrșan.