Romanian Energy Suppliers Association launches study on the impact of prosumers on Romania’s Energy System
Romania’s booming prosumer segment is reshaping the country’s electricity market at an unprecedented pace, prompting calls for regulatory reform to ensure long-term sustainability and fairness across the system. The Romanian Energy Suppliers Association (AFEER) announced the release of a comprehensive study titled “The Evolution, Regulatory Framework and Impact of Prosumers on Romania’s Energy System.” The report analyzes the rapid growth of prosumers, their systemic impact, and the adequacy of the current regulatory framework, while offering technical and economic recommendations and international best practices.
Romania has recorded one of the fastest expansions of prosumers in Europe. The number of prosumers surged from just 303 in 2019 to nearly 300,000 at the beginning of 2026. Installed capacity rose from under 5 MW to approximately 3,400 MW by the end of 2025, with annual production reaching around 4.5 TWh—roughly 9% of Romania’s total electricity output.
Between 2022 and 2024, annual average growth rates exceeded 200%, allowing Romania to outpace more mature markets such as Germany, Spain and Italy.
The expansion has been largely driven by high electricity prices, which accelerated household and small business investments in rooftop solar installations.
Hidden Costs and Market Distortions
According to Laurențiu Urluescu, President of AFEER, while prosumers bring clear benefits to the energy transition, the study reveals substantial additional costs borne by suppliers.
“If we relate suppliers’ additional costs to the amount of electricity injected into the grid by prosumers, the extra cost per MWh produced ranges between RON 200 and RON 372,” Urluescu stated. “Ultimately, these costs are supported by consumers.”
The report estimates that in 2024 alone, the financial impact of the current regulatory model amounts to tens of millions of euros annually, with costs expected to increase proportionally with the number of connected prosumers.
One of the most controversial findings concerns cross-subsidization. Benefits granted to prosumers—particularly exemptions from imbalance costs for installations of up to 400 kW—are effectively financed by non-prosumer consumers. Romania’s 400 kW exemption threshold is the highest in Europe and sits at the upper limit allowed under EU legislation.
The position of Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) is explicit: prosumers should contribute adequately to overall system costs, including network, system and balancing costs, with exemptions limited strictly to genuinely small installations.
Grid Under Pressure
Romania’s distribution networks, originally designed for one-directional energy flows, are now facing mounting pressure due to the rapid expansion of distributed generation. The transition to bidirectional flows has introduced operational complexities and technical challenges that require significant investment and modernization.
While prosumers contribute to decarbonization goals, increased renewable penetration, and the digitalization of the grid—potentially enabling balancing services through aggregation and storage—the pace of growth has overlapped with the broader energy crisis and state-imposed price caps, compounding market distortions.
Call for Regulatory Reform
AFEER argues that a coherent and dedicated regulatory framework is urgently needed, aligned with the EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED III), to integrate all elements governing prosumer activity.
“The rapid integration of a growing number of prosumers fundamentally changes the operation of the national energy system,” Urluescu said. “For this transformation to remain sustainable in the long term, we need unified regulation that correlates decarbonization objectives with the stability of the energy system and the electricity market.”
The full study is available on AFEER’s official website.
