Romania sharply narrowed its physical electricity import deficit during the first half of 2026 as domestic generation increased, exports surged and installed battery capacity approached 1 GW.
Physical exports rose 52% year on year to 4.98 TWh, while imports were broadly unchanged at around 5.77 TWh, transmission-system data showed.
The resulting physical net-import position fell to around 0.79 TWh, compared with about 2.47 TWh in the same period of 2025.
Domestic net generation increased by approximately 7%, while electricity consumption was broadly flat.
Exports strengthened particularly towards Hungary, Ukraine and Moldova.
The figures point to a gradual change in Romania’s regional market position.
The country continues to switch between net importing and exporting depending on nuclear availability, hydrology and renewable production, but the generation fleet is becoming better positioned to supply neighbouring markets during periods of domestic surplus.
Storage is becoming an increasingly important part of that development.
Romania had around 924 MW of installed battery power and approximately 1,762.5 MWh of storage capacity by 1 July, while several significantly larger BESS projects remain under construction or development.
The expansion is particularly relevant because Romanian wholesale prices are becoming increasingly volatile within the day.
Strong solar production can push daytime prices sharply lower, while evening prices rise as photovoltaic output falls.
Recent sessions have seen midday prices near or below €100/MWh, followed by evening values above €250/MWh.
Battery storage allows operators to shift part of the midday surplus into those higher-value hours.
This can reduce import demand during evening peaks while limiting the need to export solar-heavy generation at depressed prices.
The H1 balance does not mean Romania has eliminated its exposure to imports.
The summer disruption at Cernavodă and unusually low Danube levels demonstrated how quickly the system can become short when nuclear and hydro availability deteriorate simultaneously.
However, underlying flexibility is improving.
More wind and solar capacity is being connected, storage is expanding and Romania has access to several neighbouring markets through Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and Moldova.
The key constraint is increasingly transmission.
If renewable and battery additions continue to outpace network development, congestion could limit the ability of new assets to access higher-priced domestic or cross-border markets.
For traders, this makes grid location and cross-border capacity increasingly important variables alongside outright generation costs.
Romania’s H1 data suggest the country is moving beyond the role of a structurally import-dependent market.
It is developing into a more flexible regional system capable of switching between imports and exports depending on hourly price signals, generation availability and cross-border constraints.
