Electrica Rewards Evening Battery Use & Midday Load Shifts — NRG-IA

Electrica Furnizare is attempting to turn the timing of electricity consumption or grid injection into an explicit economic value. Through its "Ținem România Aprinsă" (Keeping Romania Lit) program, the supplier offers eligible prosumers a bonus of RON 0.40/kWh for energy stored in batteries and delivered between 19:00 and 23:00. Meanwhile, industrial companies receive a 100% commercial discount on the active energy component for eligible consumption shifted from the same evening peak to the 10:00–16:00 interval. The two mechanisms tackle the same issue from opposite directions. At midday, photovoltaic generation can be high and available energy abundant. In the evening, solar generation drops off while demand remains high, forcing the system to rely on hydropower, thermal power plants, batteries, and imports. Electrica is thus incentivizing industrial consumers to use more energy during high-supply hours, and prosumers to store a portion of their midday generation and feed it into the grid when the system needs it most. Industry receives incentives for shifted consumption, not the entire bill The component targeting industrial companies was launched in August 2026 and involves shifting a portion of the consumption typically occurring between 19:00 and 23:00 to the 10:00–16:00 window. The mechanism is scheduled. Participating companies submit their estimated shiftable energy volume the day before, Electrica Furnizare confirms the accepted volume, and the discount is subsequently applied to the eligible volume actually transferred between the two intervals. The commercial benefit reaches 100% of the active electricity component for the eligible volume shifted in August 2026. However, the discount does not mean the entire bill for midday consumption is waived. Regulated grid tariffs, taxes, and other bill components remain applicable. The incentive applies strictly to the active energy component and only to the consumption volume that meets the program's criteria. This distinction is crucial for both the consumer and the economic evaluation of the program. Electrica is not offering free electricity across the board between 10:00 and 16:00; rather, it is compensating, via a commercial discount, the flexibility of a client who adjusts their consumption profile in a way that benefits the supplier and the grid. Prosumers receive an extra RON 400 for each eligible MWh delivered in the evening The second component of the program targets residential prosumers in Electrica Furnizare's portfolio who have a photovoltaic system, battery storage, and a smart meter, with generation installations of up to 200 kW of installed capacity per consumption site. For eligible energy stored in the battery and injected into the grid between 19:00 and 23:00, Electrica increases the contractual purchase price by RON 0.40/kWh. In energy terms, the incentive is equivalent to RON 400 for each eligible MWh delivered during the designated interval. The premium applies only to energy meeting the program's conditions, not to the entire volume of electricity injected into the grid by the prosumer. The actual value gained by each participant will depend, among other things, on the amount of energy they can store and shift to the evening interval. Participation is voluntary, and the program imposes no penalties for days when the prosumer has no eligible energy to deliver. This component is available until August 31, 2026, with Electrica Furnizare indicating the possibility of an extension. Over 127,000 Romanian prosumers already have batteries The program comes at a time when distributed storage has reached a scale that is starting to become relevant for the Romanian electricity market. ANRE data shows that as of June 30, 2026, Romania had 359,378 prosumers , with a total installed capacity of 4,019.17 MW . Of these, 324,535 were individuals (representing 2,067.47 MW of installed capacity) and 34,843 were legal entities (with 1,951.69 MW). More importantly for Electrica's new mechanism, 127,084 prosumers also had storage systems . Of the total, 123,231 were individuals and 3,853 were legal entities. Approximately 35% of prosumers in Romania thus had batteries at the end of June. For individuals, the proportion was close to 38%. However, the number of systems does not indicate how much power can be injected simultaneously into the grid or how much energy can be shifted from midday to evening. The ANRE data published for prosumers identifies the number of storage installations but does not provide an aggregate capacity in MW and MWh in this statistic to allow calculating their total contribution during a specific interval. Consequently, the more than 127,000 prosumers with batteries represent a significant distributed resource, but the actual scale of flexibility they can provide to the National Energy System (SEN) depends on battery capacity, state of charge, consumption profiles, and active participation in such programs. The midday…