Grid Connection Rights in 2027–2028: How Developers Can Protect Their ATRs

Holding an issued technical grid connection approval (ATR) and a signed grid connection agreement does not, by itself, secure grid connection rights until commissioning. ANRE's May 2026 amendments link certain permitting deadlines to express legal consequences: an ATR ceasing to be valid, automatic termination of the grid connection agreement and, where the statutory conditions are met, enforcement of financial guarantees. For many projects already under development, 25 May 2027 is a date that requires immediate attention.

For solar, wind, battery energy storage (BESS) and hybrid project developers, the useful question is not merely, “How long does my ATR remain valid?” It is, “Which statutory or contractual deadline is my project most likely to miss first?” The answer depends on the project's history: the ATR issuance date, the execution and status of the grid connection agreement, planning and building permits, the ANRE establishment authorisation and the guarantees in place.

When can an ATR cease to be valid?

The technical grid connection approval (*aviz tehnic de racordare*, or ATR) sets out the technical and economic terms on which a user may connect to the electricity grid. Under Articles 32–33 of the Grid Connection Regulation approved by ANRE Order No. 59/2013, an ATR generally remains valid until the connection certificate is issued for the final approved capacity, unless a specified event causes it to cease earlier.

Such events include failure to sign a grid connection agreement within 12 months of ATR issuance, termination of the agreement to which the ATR is attached, expiry of certain underlying approvals or permits, failure to obtain applicable authorisations within statutory deadlines and an express surrender by the holder. Other cases concern judicial annulment of supporting documents or the cessation of an ANRE establishment authorisation's validity.

These consequences must not be conflated. A construction delay, the expiry of an establishment authorisation, termination of the connection agreement and enforcement of a guarantee are distinct legal events. They may coincide when the regulation expressly links them; in other cases, delay does not automatically mean the ATR is lost. A project schedule built solely around the commercial operation date (COD) is therefore inadequate.

Agreements signed before 25 May 2026: why is May 2027 critical?

A central transitional rule appears in Article V(3) of ANRE Order No. 15/2026. For grid connection agreements in force when that order entered into effect, relating to generation or combined consumption-and-generation sites with approved export capacity exceeding 1 MW, developers must obtain the ANRE establishment authorisation within 12 months. The resulting general deadline is 25 May 2027.

This is not a universal expiry date for every ATR issued before 2026. It is a deadline for a separate permitting obligation, applicable to projects falling within the transitional provision. If the authorisation is not obtained as required, Article V(5) provides for the ATR to cease to be valid and for the connection agreement to terminate automatically.

The agreement's vintage also matters. Article V(4) extends the mechanisms in Article 36(5^5)–(5^8) of the Grid Connection Regulation to agreements signed in 2026 but before 25 May 2026. Its wording does not expressly extend the same relief to every agreement signed in 2024 or 2025. A developer holding a 2025 agreement should therefore not assume that an additional 12-month extension of the transitional deadline is automatically available without project-specific legal analysis and an applicable legal basis.

What deadlines apply to connection agreements signed after 25 May 2026?

For new agreements falling within Article 36(5^2)–(5^3) of the Grid Connection Regulation, the ANRE establishment authorisation must generally be obtained within 12 months of signing the grid connection agreement and within 18 months of ATR issuance. Where the grid operator contracts for the execution of the connection facilities, the authorisation must also be in place before that execution contract is signed. These requirements operate cumulatively: developers should plan against the earliest relevant deadline.

The Regulation provides limited safeguards. If ANRE confirms, before the deadline expires, that the establishment authorisation application and supporting file are complete, the period may be extended by up to 60 days to allow the authorisation to be issued and notified. Separately, the network operator may grant a one-off extension of up to 12 months where the developer provides supporting evidence that the authorisation cannot be obtained on time for justified reasons beyond the applicant's control. The operator must respond within 10 working days; a delayed response may trigger the automatic extension provided in Article 36(5^7), subject to its statutory limits.

These safeguards have their own conditions. Filing an ANRE application is not the same as obtaining the authorisation, nor does filing alone activate a 60-day or 12-month extension. Evidence of the complete application, correspondence with ANRE and communications with the operator should form part of the project's core records.

Can the grid connection agreement be extended into 2028?

Yes, but an extension of the agreement does not automatically extend permitting deadlines. Article 40^1 of the Grid Connection Regulation allows the user to request extensions for successive 12-month periods where additional time is needed to achieve final energisation, subject to a specific financial guarantee. For the first period, the guarantee is 5% of the connection tariff excluding VAT; it increases by a further five percentage points of the same base for each additional 12-month period.

The application and proof of the guarantee must be submitted to the operator at least 30 calendar days before the agreement expires. Where the documentation is complete, the operator must provide a signed draft addendum within 15 days, and the user must return the executed addendum before expiry. If the application misses the 30-day advance window but is nonetheless submitted before termination, the Regulation provides a 30-day automatic extension to conclude the addendum. This mechanism does not revive an agreement that has already ended.

The operator may also initiate an extension where connection or grid reinforcement works under its responsibility require additional time. Developers should manage three distinct schedules: agreement validity, permitting deadlines and the technical grid connection programme. An addendum moving energisation into 2028 does not, by itself, cure a missed authorisation deadline in 2027.

Which grid connection guarantee applies: 5% or 20%?

Following the May 2026 reform, Article 31(3^1) of the Grid Connection Regulation requires, for projects covered by Article 31(1), a guarantee equal to 20% of the connection tariff excluding VAT. The provision covers the categories identified in that paragraph, including qualifying generation, combined generation-and-consumption and stand-alone storage projects. The 5% guarantee in Article 31(3) concerns the separate category of consumption sites under Article 31(2).

There is a material transitional protection: under Article V(1) of Order No. 15/2026, the new 20% amount does not apply where the operator had already communicated the applicable guarantee amount under Article 18(4) before the order entered into force. The date and content of the operator's communication may therefore matter more than the ATR issuance date in isolation.

The principal grid connection guarantee must also be distinguished from the additional guarantee payable when extending the connection agreement under Article 40^1 and from the guarantee associated with an extension of the building permit deadline under Article 36(7). Guarantees may be called for certain breaches of contractual or statutory obligations, including payment, construction of user facilities, adherence to project milestones or timely permitting, under Article 31. Not every contractual termination automatically results in a guarantee call: the specific legal basis and contractual documentation must be checked.

The ANRE EUR 30/kW guarantee: a separate financial exposure

ANRE Order No. 16/2026 introduced a financial guarantee of EUR 30/kW under Article 19^1 of the Authorisation Regulation, measured by the relevant installed electrical capacity according to the ATR and the applicable rules. For illustration, a 50 MW project would have a nominal guarantee of EUR 1.5 million if its entire capacity forms the statutory calculation base. This is separate from the percentage-based guarantee in favour of the network operator.

The ANRE guarantee may be provided through eligible instruments, including bank guarantees, qualifying insurance or non-bank financial institution instruments, or cash transfer. It may be enforced in the statutory cases, including where the project is not completed within the establishment authorisation's validity or the holder abandons implementation. Exceptions include certain contracts-for-difference arrangements and repowering without an increase in installed capacity; hybrid projects are subject to additional rules.

The transitional regime matters here too. Applying to extend an establishment authorisation issued before May 2026 may trigger the EUR 30/kW guarantee. The extension application must be filed at least 60 days before expiry; late filing may cause it to be treated as an application for a new authorisation. Where the original funding documentation was only pre-contractual, developers should also check the subsequent obligation to provide binding funding evidence within the ANRE-set period, capped at six months.

What if Transelectrica or a distribution operator delays the works?

Delays caused by the network operator should not automatically be attributed to the developer. Article 40^1(7)–(10) allows the operator to initiate successive extensions of the connection agreement where connection or reinforcement works under its responsibility need additional time. Separately, Article V of Order No. 16/2026 offers protection against enforcement of the ANRE guarantee where the delay is beyond the investor's control and is evidenced by the required official documents or enforceable instruments, subject to the prescribed procedure.

Evidence should be assembled before a dispute arises: contractual responsibilities, the works programme, written clarification requests, operator delay notices, communications from competent authorities and their implications for COD should be retained in a consistent project file. Protection against a guarantee call does not, by itself, extend an ATR; each exposed right and deadline requires a separate assessment.

Are BESS and hybrid projects different?

Yes. A BESS project may have distinct import capacity, export capacity, installed converter capacity and energy capacity stated in MWh. These are not interchangeable metrics and should not be substituted for one another when testing authorisation thresholds or calculating guarantees. In hybrid projects, adding storage, changing installed capacity or modifying the connection configuration may require a review of the ATR, connection study, grid connection agreement and relevant permits.

An ATR amendment should not be assumed to restart statutory periods already running. For new applications within the capacity allocation methodology approved by ANRE Order No. 53/2024, competitive capacity allocation and its guarantees are separate from preserving an existing ATR. From 2027, the participation guarantee for capacity allocation is determined using the formula introduced by Order No. 15/2026 rather than a universally fixed price.

Hypothetical example: a 2024 ATR, a 2025 agreement and COD in 2028

Assume a developer holds a 50 MW solar project, with its ATR issued in October 2024, its grid connection agreement signed in September 2025, the building permit still pending and the ANRE establishment authorisation not yet obtained. COD is planned for 2028. Assuming the agreement remained in force on 25 May 2026 and the project meets the conditions of Article V(3) of Order No. 15/2026, 25 May 2027 is a critical deadline for the establishment authorisation.

The developer must separately verify the building permit deadline and the connection agreement's validity, including the available extension mechanism and associated guarantees. Grid works or financing constraints shifting COD into 2028 do not automatically defer the 2027 obligations. The practical decision is whether a realistic permitting and financing route exists that can preserve all essential rights through completion.

Developer Action Checklist: what should be reviewed in the next 30–90 days?

1. Legal classification: ATR issuance date, agreement execution date, agreement status on 25 May 2026 and approved export capacity. 2. Competing deadlines: building permit, ANRE establishment authorisation, agreement expiry and validity of the permits or approvals supporting the ATR. 3. Guarantees: applicable amounts, operator communications, issuer, duration, enforcement triggers and the cost of extensions. 4. Actual permitting status: missing items, filing records, confirmation of application completeness and correspondence with ANRE and the operator. 5. Necessary extensions: the legal basis for each deadline, supporting evidence and the time by which the relevant request must be submitted. 6. Integrated programme: alignment of the legal timetable with grid works, financing, EPC delivery and expected COD.

Conclusion: preserving grid connection rights requires active management

For projects targeting COD in 2027–2028, the relevant risk is not simply the expiry of a connection agreement; it is the interaction of multiple statutory and contractual deadlines. An ATR may be a valuable commercial asset, but its value depends on the necessary authorisations, guarantees and a coherent delivery timetable. The immediate question is: *could any upcoming deadline compromise my grid connection rights before commissioning?*

Grigorescu & Partners advises developers and investors on grid connection, ANRE authorisations and legal risk management for energy projects in Romania. An integrated review of the ATR, connection agreement, permits and guarantees can identify priority actions before an avoidable delay becomes irreversible.

Request a project-specific assessment. If you have an ATR or a grid connection agreement with deadlines in 2027–2028, discuss a legal review of your documents and risks or Email us the project details.

*This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice for a particular project. Applicable rules depend on the project's documents, timeline and the version of the regulations governing the relevant events.*

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