On 19 August 2026, ANRE approved a mechanism under which temporary, voluntary reductions in electricity consumption can be paid for. But the claim that “Romanians will be paid to consume less” has an important limitation: this is not an automatic bonus for every household that moves its consumption outside peak hours.
The rules approved by ANRE Order No. 54/2026 and published in the Official Gazette on 26 August 2026 establish a system service that Transelectrica can procure through auctions. In its current form, the mechanism is intended for participants in the day-ahead market: dispatchable consumers, suppliers and aggregators. A household customer may benefit only through a supplier or aggregator that includes them in a contractual programme and sets out how part of the payment will be passed on to them.
For more information on ANRE, see ANRE Order 9/2026: the new rule that could change locally produced energy for Romanians, which provides complementary details on this subject.
In other words, the new rule creates the framework for flexibility programmes, but it does not yet announce a premium, a fixed amount or an enrolment form for the public.
What ANRE decided and why the Official Gazette text matters
In its 19 August statement, ANRE presented the mechanism as a way for electricity demand to become a resource for balancing the system: at certain times, it is more efficient for some consumers to temporarily reduce their use than to bring more expensive generation resources online or cover the shortfall through other measures.
However, the applicable legal rule is the one in the regulation published later. It specifies that the dispatchable-consumption flexibility mechanism may be activated in crisis situations in the National Power System, rather than as a permanent reward programme for changing consumption habits.
The listed situations include a nationwide resource shortage, regional or European crises, prolonged cold spells or heatwaves, weather phenomena that significantly affect generation for more than three days, the long-term unavailability of major transmission lines, and other emergencies identified by the National Energy Dispatch Centre.
This distinction is essential. In August 2026, when authorities voluntarily asked for consumption to be reduced during certain hours, public discussion focused on avoiding pressure on the system. The new mechanism does not turn that general appeal into a guaranteed payment for every consumer; instead, it creates a procurement procedure for verifiable cuts in consumption.
Who can participate directly and who can join only through an intermediary
The regulation is not designed as an individual app through which a household customer tells Transelectrica directly that they will switch off an appliance. Direct participation is linked to the wholesale electricity market and to the framework contract with the transmission and system operator.
| Category | Can participate directly? | What must be in place |
|---|---|---|
| Dispatchable consumer with large-scale operations | Yes, if it meets market conditions | Participation in the day-ahead market, a framework contract with Transelectrica, remotely metered consumption points and a genuine ability to reduce consumption |
| Electricity supplier | Yes | It may offer the flexibility of a portfolio of customers, under the terms of the regulation |
| Energy aggregator | Yes | It may pool several consumers to create a bid-ready reduction in consumption |
| Household / residential customer | Not usually, directly in a Transelectrica auction | A programme offered by a supplier or aggregator, compatible metering and a contract explaining activation, verification and the financial benefit |
The regulation explicitly says that a contractual framework must be in place for final customers to participate through suppliers or aggregators. It must set out the conditions for joining the programme, how the customer is notified and activated, the parties’ rights and obligations, how the reduction is verified, settlement and the provision of financial benefits to the customer.
A supplier could therefore launch, for example, a programme under which a group of customers agrees to shift electric-vehicle charging, water-heater use or washing-machine cycles outside a critical time window. But this would be a specific commercial offer from the supplier or aggregator, with its own rules—not a right that automatically appears on everyone’s bill.
The 0.5 MW threshold shows why households must be aggregated
The minimum quantity that can be bid is 0.5 MW, meaning 500 kW of reduced power over a set period. This is too high a threshold for an ordinary household, but it can be reached by a factory, a shopping centre, a company with flexible processes, or an aggregator pooling many consumption points.
The regulation uses 15-minute trading intervals. A 0.5 MW reduction sustained for a quarter of an hour equals 0.125 MWh, or 125 kWh of energy not consumed during that interval. The number of households needed to deliver such a reduction cannot be properly determined without data on equipment and the simultaneity of consumption; any fixed estimate would therefore be misleading.
What can be said with certainty is that aggregation is the practical element of the mechanism for households. A residential consumer may contribute only a small amount, but a cumulative, predictable and measured reduction can become eligible to be bid into the market.
How an auction for consumption reduction works
- Transelectrica identifies the need. The transmission and system operator analyses the state of the system, including the results of the day-ahead market and the balancing market over the previous five working days.
- The flexibility requirement is published. For the delivery day, Transelectrica must announce the power to be reduced and the target intervals two days in advance, at 10:00 CET.
- Participants submit bids. A bid includes the amount of power they can reduce and the requested price, expressed in lei/MW. Bids are submitted individually for each 15-minute interval.
- Bids are selected by price. Transelectrica ranks them in ascending order until it covers the calculated requirement for the respective interval.
- Validation follows. The bid reduction must be compatible with the consumption profile and the energy scheduled for that day. A selected bid does not automatically become payable if it fails the checks laid down in the regulation.
- Consumption is measured after activation. Payment depends on actual consumption, compared with a baseline calculated from the history of the consumption point.
This process explains why it is not enough for a participant merely to say they will consume less. The reduction must be firm, measurable and subsequently confirmed.
Not every saving is paid: the consumption baseline matters
The technical side of the mechanism also protects against payment for a reduction that would have happened anyway. The metering operator and Transelectrica calculate a consumption baseline using data from the previous five working days for comparable intervals.
If, during the activated interval, measured consumption is no higher than the baseline minus the committed reduction, the participant may be paid for the validated bid. If the actual reduction is not achieved, no payment is made.
Simplified example: a company normally consumes 2 MW in a 15-minute interval and commits to reduce this by 0.5 MW. To meet that commitment, measured consumption must be no more than 1.5 MW in that interval. In practice, the calculation applies to the declared consumption points and uses the technical rules in the regulation, not a simple comparison with the previous month’s bill.
This verification method is why connected appliances, remotely transmitting meters and consumption data matter for future programmes aimed at households. The regulation makes final customers’ eligibility conditional on consumption points being equipped with meters that allow data to be transmitted remotely.
Do we know how much consumers will receive?
ANRE has not set a fixed amount for households. The price is proposed in the bid by the auction participant, and payment is made at the price of the activated bid if the reduction is confirmed. For this reason, it is not currently possible to calculate how many lei a family might receive each month.
There is a second filter: Transelectrica pays the auction participant—the eligible consumer, supplier or aggregator—and the regulation requires suppliers and aggregators to specify contractually how the final customer receives financial benefits. The percentage, the form of the bonus, any bill discount and minimum thresholds are not standardised in the order.
In the absence of a public commercial offer, any promise such as “you receive X lei if you do not run the washing machine in the evening” would be premature. Readers should follow the supplier’s documents, participation terms and the specific calculation method, not just the general announcement about the mechanism.
What a household customer should check before accepting a programme
- Who runs the programme: the current supplier or an aggregator, and the role of each.
- Which consumption can be shifted safely: car charging, a water heater, a washing machine or other non-critical loads. Medical equipment and comfort needed for health must not be put at risk for a bonus.
- How the request is sent: an app, text message, email, notification with a specified notice period, or automation accepted by the customer.
- What the consumption benchmark is: how the comparison baseline is calculated and in which situations the reduction is not recognised.
- How payment is made: a bill discount, transfer, voucher or another form; the amount or formula, and when settlement takes place.
- What data are collected: the programme will use detailed metering data, and privacy terms should be read before joining.
Until such programmes emerge, voluntarily shifting consumption remains useful for a household’s own bill and for the system, but it should not be confused with paid participation in the new service. For habits that cut consumption without major investment, InfoBuz’s guide to reducing your energy bill may also be useful.
Why the mechanism has appeared now
In the summer of 2026, Romania went through a period in which demand in the evening hours and the availability of resources became matters of public interest. The Ministry of Energy then recommended, until 31 August 2026, shifting some energy-intensive activities from 19:00–23:00 to 11:00–17:00, when photovoltaic generation is generally higher.
The new regulation does not solve a shortage of generation, grid or storage capacity. It does, however, provide a targeted alternative: if part of consumption can be reduced in a controlled, transparent way and at a competitive price, pressure on the balancing market may fall. Over time, this flexibility may complement grid investment, including that explained in InfoBuz’s analysis of the electricity grid development plan to 2035.
For consumers with solar panels and batteries, the idea of moving energy available during solar-generation hours into the evening is already familiar. Data and context on renewable generation can also be followed on the Energy and Solar Romania page. However, having a photovoltaic system or a battery does not by itself mean automatic enrolment in the ANRE mechanism.
What happens before the mechanism can become visible to households
The regulation requires Transelectrica to draft, consult publicly on and publish the implementation procedure and the remaining necessary documents within three months of publication in the Official Gazette. Since the order was published on 26 August 2026, the deadline specified by the regulation falls on 26 November 2026.
The future documents must detail, among other things, the method for deciding activation, the calculation of the required reduction, trading intervals, the operational flow, the framework contract and the bid format. Only after this stage will it be clearer how quickly suppliers and aggregators can build programmes for household customers.
The practical conclusion: the ANRE mechanism is a genuine rule change in the energy market, but for a family it is not yet a “get paid for saving energy” programme. For now, it is the framework through which a supplier or aggregator could later turn the flexible consumption of multiple customers into a measured and paid service.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask ANRE for money now if I reduce my electricity consumption?
No. ANRE has not announced an individual enrolment scheme or an automatic bonus. Payment is made through the auction mechanism administered by Transelectrica, and household customers could participate through contractual programmes offered by suppliers or aggregators.
What is the minimum threshold in the new mechanism?
The minimum bid is 0.5 MW of reduced power in a 15-minute trading interval. This threshold makes household participation through aggregation, rather than individually, likely.
In what situations can the mechanism be activated?
The regulation limits it to crisis situations in the National Power System, such as resource shortages, major interconnection problems, prolonged cold spells or heatwaves, and other emergencies identified by the National Energy Dispatch Centre.
Is payment guaranteed if I join a supplier programme?
No. Payment depends on the mechanism being activated, the terms of the contract and confirmation through metering data that the committed consumption reduction was achieved.
