New rules for energy communities, participation in wholesale market, and storage use

The local energy market continues to align with the European model of active consumer participation and integration of distributed energy resources. The ANRE Order No. 9/2026 approved the rules governing the participation of renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities in wholesale electricity markets, and the conditions for using storage capacities to provide services to network operators. ANRE has also approved recently the procedure for establishing the National Register of Energy Communities, through Order No. 50 of June 25, 2026. For the business sector, this enhances a more clearly defined access to market mechanisms, setting the foundation for developing models based on flexibility and storage, and the strengthening of the legal framework applicable to players operating at the intersection of distributed generation, consumption, energy services, and grid infrastructure. To understand the stakes of the new regulation, it is worth reminding that "renewable energy communities" (RECs) are structures established at the European level by Directive (EU) 2018/2001 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RED II). They mainly bring together individuals, SMEs, or local authorities cooperating to produce, consume, store, share, or sell renewable energy, with the main goal of generating environmental, economic, or social benefits for their members or the local community. In practice, these models may include projects involving collective self-consumption, energy sharing, local generation, storage, and, increasingly, active market participation. Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are considered key elements in transforming the concepts of energy production and consumption, specifically, in shifting from a centralized energy production model to a decentralized one. What regulates the ANRE Order no. 9/2026 For developers, investors, aggregators, industrial companies, or local authorities interested in distributed energy models, the Order introduces a set of requirements that projects must meet. They cover market access, necessary licenses, responsibility for imbalances generated in the energy market, and the use of stored energy. The first important clarification concerns its scope of application. The rules apply to renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities, including generation and storage facilities owned by the community or its members, whether individually or collectively. The energy targeted by the new regulatory framework may originate in either generation or storage facilities that are individually connected or owned by community members. One of the most relevant provisions concerns actual market participation. Thus, an energy community may participate in organized electricity markets, in the balancing market, and activities related to balancing services, as well as in transactions conducted outside organized markets, to the extent permitted by the applicable framework and the bilateral contracts concluded. According to ANRE Order No. 50 of June 25, 2026, regarding the approval of the procedure for establishing the National Register of Energy Communities, published in the Official Gazette No. 535 on June 30, 2026, duly constituted renewable energy communities and citizen energy communities are required to register in the aforementioned register, which serves as a record-keeping tool for these communities. Registration must be requested by the community's legal representative within 30 days of acquiring legal personality. Failure to meet this deadline does not prevent registration but will be noted in the register. ANRE will publish public information extracted from the register on its website, and the register becomes operational on the first day of the month following the order's entry into force. For interested operators, this means an energy community can become an active participant in commercial market mechanisms and is no longer limited to self-consumption or local energy sharing. ANRE Order No. 9/2026 offers two options for accessing wholesale markets: direct participation or indirect participation via another market participant with whom the community has a contract for this purpose. Direct participation can offer greater control over commercial activity but entails additional obligations regarding compliance, organization, and operational management. Participating through an intermediary or aggregator can reduce administrative complexity but requires careful contractual structuring, particularly concerning commercial responsibilities and associated costs. Another aspect requiring early analysis is the licensing regime . The Order links market participation to the obligation to hold the licenses required by applicable legislation, depending on the activities actually carried out. In practice, communities may require, as the case may be, licenses for generation, supply, trading, aggregation, or the commercial operation of storage facilities . The Order also introduces an important rule regarding financial responsibility for imbalances. As a market participant, the energy community assumes the obligation to bear the costs of imbalances generated in the electricity market or, alternatively, may transfer this responsibility to another balancing responsible party via a contractual mechanism, subject to the conditions set out in applicable regulations. Energy storage is another important component of the Order. The rules allow for the use of storage capacities belonging to the community or its members to provide services to network operators, including by using one or more generation and/or storage facilities connected to the same network. These capacities may provide flexibility services and, where applicable, system services to the network operator, in compliance with applicable technical and commercial requirements. One of the key aspects of Order No. 9/2026 concerns the conditions under which storage facilities owned by an energy community or its members may be used to provide services to network operators. Ultimately, analyzing the ANRE Order No. 9/2026 we can notice that for interested investors and operators, the challenge is no longer whether these models can participate in the market, but rather how they structure that participation from a legal, commercial, and operational standpoint. Expert corner by Cristina Bojica, Partner, Gruia Dufaut & Asociatii