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Draft biomethane legislation promises new opportunities on Romania's energy market
September 2025 – Although biomethane has been regulated by Romania's Gas Law no. 123/2012 the ("Law 123/2012") for many years, in practice the development of projects remained blocked. The key obstacle has been the refusal of grid operators to allow the interconnection of such projects, relying on outdated wording of the legal definitions of distribution and transmission gas networks.
As a consequence of the above - and given Romania's ambitions towards achieving a share of at least 5% biomethane in the total volume of gas transported through the National Transmission System and distribution system by 2030 - the Ministry of Energy recently published for public consultation the draft Government Emergency Ordinance for the amendment and supplementation of certain normative acts in the energy sector with a view to promoting the production of biomethane(the "Draft").
The Draft introduces the following key provisions:
- green gas will benefit from guarantees of origin;
- quality parameters for biomethane will be established by secondary legislation in a non-discriminatory manner;
- distribution operators have the obligation to grant access and interconnection to the distribution network for biomethane producers;
- all costs required for the expansion of and/or interconnection to the gas network will be incurred by biomethane producers, even if part of the related works is included in the annual investment plan of the relevant network operator.
It remains unclear whether biomethane projects will be allowed to interconnect directly with the NTS or only to the distribution networks.
In conclusion, although still a draft and in need of further refinement, the proposed framework marks an important step forward by addressing the main obstacle that has long stalled biomethane projects in Romania. That said, a long road lies ahead, with secondary legislation still to be adjusted and issued before the framework can be fully effective.
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