In brief

  • Individual prosumers with solar panels of up to 27 kW can now use the amount resulting from electricity compensation to pay not only their electricity bill but also their natural gas bill, provided both contracts are with the same supplier.
  • The threshold up to which prosumers can sell the energy they produce directly to other consumers connected to the same power plant, not only to their supplier, rises to 400 kW per consumption point.
  • Quantitative compensation for installations of up to 200 kW is guaranteed by law until 31 December 2030, and the new rules also apply to contracts already in progress.
Act: Law no. 160/2026, promulgated by Decree no. 435/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania no. 603 of 23 July 2026
Enters into force: 26 July 2026

The electricity your rooftop solar panels produce can now cover your gas bill too, not just your power bill. Legea nr. 160/2026, which amends and supplements the Electricity and Natural Gas Law nr. 123/2012, promulgated through Decretul nr. 435/2026 and published in the Official Gazette of Romania nr. 603 din 23 iulie 2026, rewrites the rules on quantitative compensation, the mechanism through which a supplier deducts from your bill the electricity you sent back to the grid from your solar surplus. The law arrives in the same month in which Parliament also reshaped the energy market through Legea 162/2026, which gives the state levers to cap fuel prices during crises, and through the creation of CONSE, the body that officially declares electricity market crises, both signs of the same concern for market stability.

Legea 123/2012 on electricity and natural gas is the act that governs, among other things, the status of prosumers, meaning individuals, companies or public institutions that generate electricity from renewable sources, mainly rooftop solar panels, for their own consumption. The amendments brought by Legea 160/2026 define, for the first time explicitly as a separate legal concept, “quantitative compensation,” and significantly expand what you can do with the money or energy that results from it.

What it changes in practice

The law introduces or amends four mechanisms that directly concern any grid-connected solar panel owner.

Quantitative compensation now has its own legal definition. For prosumers with installations of up to 200 kW per consumption point, the supplier calculates monthly, in one or more invoices: how much you consumed from the grid (at the contract price, including all taxes), how much you produced and delivered yourself, up to your consumption level (at the contract price, excluding taxes), and separately, what you produced in excess of your consumption, also at the contract price, excluding taxes. In practice, the law obliges suppliers to run this calculation using a single unified formula, rather than rules that differ from one supplier to another.

Your surplus electricity can now pay your gas bill too. The most important practical novelty: individual prosumers with installations of up to 27 kW per consumption point (the typical ceiling for a residential system) can choose to have the amount resulting from quantitative compensation cover not only their electricity bills but also their natural gas bills, provided both contracts, electricity and gas, are signed with the same supplier and cover all the consumption points the prosumer holds in that supplier’s portfolio. The option is set when signing the contract for selling the electricity produced and remains valid for at least 12 months.

The direct-sale threshold rises to 400 kW. Individual and corporate prosumers, as well as public authorities and institutions with installations of up to 400 kW per consumption point, can sell the energy they produce or store not only to the supplier they have a contract with, but also to consumers connected directly to the power plant’s busbars, according to ANRE regulations.

Different rules for larger installations. For prosumers with installed capacity between 200 kW and 400 kW, suppliers are required to purchase the energy produced at the weighted average price on the day-ahead market (PZU) and to carry out a financial settlement, rather than actual quantitative compensation, between the energy delivered and the energy consumed from the grid.

All four mechanisms settle what the energy leaving the house is worth and who may buy it. What it costs to carry that energy is decided in a separate act: from 25 September 2026, renewable energy communities entered in the National Register of Energy Communities can ask for an analysis that may end in a lower distribution tariff for the energy produced and consumed inside the community itself.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

  • No unified legal concept of “quantitative compensation” existed: until now the mechanism operated through ANRE methodologies, without its own definition in the law; Legea 160/2026 introduces point 231 in Article 3, which fixes the calculation formula directly in the text of the law.
  • Compensation used to cover only the electricity bill: the money or energy resulting from the surplus sent to the grid could be used exclusively for electricity bills; now, individual prosumers with installations of up to 27 kW can direct the same amount toward their natural gas bill too, if they have both services with the same supplier.
  • Direct sales to other consumers were allowed only up to 400 kW, for a narrower set of situations: the law explicitly clarifies this 400 kW threshold and now includes, alongside individuals and companies, public authorities and institutions that hold renewable generation capacity.
  • There was no clear legal deadline guaranteeing the compensation scheme: Legea 160/2026 sets 31 December 2030 as the date until which quantitative compensation for installations under 200 kW remains guaranteed, in line with national targets on the share of renewable energy.
  • The rules did not apply retroactively: under Article III, the new definition of quantitative compensation now also applies to renewable energy sale-purchase contracts already in progress on the date the law enters into force, not only to contracts signed afterward.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • Solar panel owners with a dual contract (electricity and gas) at the same supplier can, in practice, reduce two different bills from the output of the same installation, not just one.
  • The legal guarantee through 2030 gives predictability to those now deciding to invest in solar panels, an essential factor for an investment that pays off over several years.
  • The higher direct-sale threshold (400 kW) opens up additional options for farms, homeowners’ associations or public institutions with medium-sized installations.
  • Retroactive application to contracts already in progress means nothing needs to be renegotiated or resigned to benefit from the new rules.

What remains a problem

  • The option to direct compensation toward gas as well only works if you have both contracts with the same supplier; anyone with electricity and gas at different suppliers cannot use the facility without switching suppliers.
  • The law leaves ANRE to work out the concrete technical implementation mechanisms through an updated methodology within 60 days; until then, some practical aspects remain up to suppliers’ interpretation.
  • For installations between 200 kW and 400 kW, the shift to financial settlement at the PZU (day-ahead market) price means exposure to wholesale price volatility, unlike the fixed contract price used in actual quantitative compensation.
  • The choice of destination for the amount (electricity only, or electricity and gas) is fixed contractually for a minimum of 12 months, so switching suppliers or preferences mid-year isn’t immediate.

Practical advice

  1. You’re an individual with solar panels of up to 27 kW: check whether your electricity supplier is also your gas supplier; if so, you can explicitly request, when signing or renewing your contract for selling the energy produced, that the amount from quantitative compensation also cover your gas bill.
  2. You’re choosing an energy supplier and you have (or are planning) solar panels: consider a single supplier for both electricity and gas, because that is exactly what conditions access to the new facility introduced by Legea 160/2026.
  3. You already have a contract for selling the energy produced, signed before 23 iulie 2026: your contract automatically falls under the new quantitative compensation rules, under Article III of the law; you don’t need an addendum for that, but you can contact your supplier about the gas-redirection option if you haven’t used it yet.
  4. You run a company, a homeowners’ association or a public institution with a solar installation between 200 kW and 400 kW: keep in mind that your energy is settled at the average day-ahead market (PZU) price, not the fixed price in your supply contract, so it’s worth tracking how that price moves when you’re planning your investment’s return.

Frequently asked questions

What is quantitative compensation?
It’s the mechanism through which your electricity supplier deducts from your monthly bill the value of the electricity you sent to the grid from your solar surplus, compared with what you consumed from the grid, at the prices in your own supply contract. It applies to prosumers with installations of up to 200 kW per consumption point.
Who can use surplus electricity to pay for gas too?
Only individual prosumers with installations of up to 27 kW per consumption point, and only if they hold both their electricity contract and their natural gas contract with the same supplier, for all the consumption points they have in that supplier’s portfolio.
Until when is quantitative compensation guaranteed by law?
Until 31 December 2030, for prosumers with installations of up to 200 kW per consumption point, in the context of national commitments on the share of renewable energy for 2030. After that date, they’ll be able to sell the energy produced under the terms applicable to prosumers with installed capacity between 200 and 400 kW.
Do the new rules also apply to contracts signed before 23 iulie 2026?
Yes. Article III of the law expressly provides that the new definition of quantitative compensation also applies to renewable energy sale-purchase contracts already in progress on the date the law enters into force.
What changes for prosumers with installations between 200 kW and 400 kW?
They no longer fall under the actual quantitative compensation mechanism. The supplier is required to buy the energy produced and delivered at the weighted average price on the day-ahead market (PZU) for that month and to carry out a financial settlement between the energy delivered and the energy consumed from the grid.
Who has to update the technical rules for implementing the law?
The president of ANRE, within 60 days of the law entering into force, by amending the Methodology for trading electricity produced by prosumers, originally approved through Ordinul ANRE nr. 15/2022.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official published form.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 603 of 23 July 2026 16 pages PDF, 115 KB the act starts on page 2

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.