The proposal asks whether responsibility for wholesale energy trading should rest only with companies or also with the people making each transaction.
A proposed shift from company liability
George Niculescu, president of Romania’s energy regulator ANRE, says the institution will change the rules for wholesale energy trading by introducing individual authorisation. Under the proposal, anyone trading wholesale energy on behalf of a market participant would need an authorisation issued by ANRE. The change has not yet been described as an enacted rule, and the source gives no timetable or draft text. Niculescu’s stated rationale is that wholesale energy trading moves billions of euros annually and that each transaction can ultimately affect a customer’s bill. His criticism is that the people making the decisions currently remain behind the companies employing them.
How the proposed authorisation would work
The mechanism would place an individual approval between the trader and the wholesale market. A company could still be the market participant, but the person placing trades for it would also have to hold an ANRE authorisation. Niculescu sets out three linked principles: individual authorisation, individual liability and professional reputation. Personal sanctions could include suspension, withdrawal of the authorisation or a ban on working in the market. This would differ from a system in which consequences remain limited to a fine paid by the company. The proposal therefore treats trading access as a professional status that can be lost.
Why procurement teams should follow the change
For energy procurement, the relevant issue is not simply the price agreed in a wholesale transaction but also the compliance status of the person conducting it. A buyer or supplier dealing through the market would need to understand whether the proposed authorisation becomes a condition for the trader acting on behalf of a participant. That could affect internal controls, the allocation of responsibility and checks on counterparties, although ANRE has not yet published detailed implementation rules in the source. Niculescu compares the model with financial-market arrangements and says the reform is intended to support responsible traders rather than target the trading profession.
IN NUMBERS
ANRE’s announcement is a proposal to make wholesale energy trading a personally regulated activity in Romania. Its practical effect on energy contracts and procurement procedures will depend on the legislation and authorisation rules eventually put forward. Niculescu says the central change is that responsibility would follow the trader as well as the company, with a professional history remaining relevant throughout the trader’s career.
Reported from economica.net, 2026-09-09. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
