Key points
- Moldova: large enterprises (more than 249 employees, turnover or assets above MDL 100 million and consumption above 1,000 toe a year) submit their first audit report to CNED within one year of notification.
- Romania: economic operators consuming more than 1,000 toe a year — and those below that threshold, except SMEs — audit their entire consumption every 4 years.
- EU: Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires an audit for companies with average consumption above 10 TJ (≈ 2.8 GWh) a year and an energy management system above 85 TJ (≈ 23.6 GWh).
- A useful audit is based on measurements, not just bills, and ends with measures ranked by savings, investment and payback.
- The value of an audit appears only once the measures are implemented and the savings are measured and verified.
Who is required to carry out an energy audit
| Framework | Who | What and when |
|---|---|---|
| Republic of Moldova — Law No. 139/2018, GD No. 829/2024 | large enterprises that are not SMEs and meet all of the following: more than 249 employees; turnover or total assets above MDL 100 million; annual primary energy consumption above 1,000 toe | first audit report submitted to CNED within one year of notification; then periodically, at least every 4 years |
| Romania — Law No. 121/2014, Art. 9 | economic operators with annual consumption above 1,000 toe | an audit of their entire consumption every 4 years, improvement programmes submitted annually, a certified energy manager |
| Romania — Law No. 121/2014, Art. 9(5) | economic operators below 1,000 toe a year, except SMEs | an audit of their entire consumption every 4 years |
| EU — Directive (EU) 2023/1791, Art. 11 | companies with average annual consumption above 10 TJ (previous 3 years) that have no energy management system | first audit by 11.10.2026, then at least every 4 years; above 85 TJ — a certified energy management system by 11.10.2027 |
For comparison: 1 tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is 41.868 GJ, so 1,000 toe ≈ 41.9 TJ ≈ 11.6 GWh; the European threshold of 10 TJ is about 2.78 GWh a year, and the 85 TJ threshold about 23.6 GWh. The new European rule therefore captures many medium-sized companies that were not obliged until now.
Transposition status. Romania had not yet notified the transposition of Directive (EU) 2023/1791: in June 2026 the European Commission sent it a reasoned opinion. Until the new law is published, Law No. 121/2014 and its penalties remain in force. In the Republic of Moldova, the list of large enterprises under the obligation was approved by CNED Order No. 06/AB of 14 February 2025, and after Law No. 111/2025 CNED sent an additional notification on 2 July 2025.
What a company in Romania risks
Law No. 121/2014 (Art. 18) penalises the lack of an audit for operators above 1,000 toe with a fine of RON 10,000–200,000, calculated with the formula P = 0.9 × C + 10,000 (in RON), where C is annual consumption in toe; for operators below 1,000 toe that are not SMEs, the fine is RON 1,000–5,000. The lack of an improvement programme and of an energy manager is penalised separately.
What a good energy audit contains
The European standards EN 16247 (parts 1–5: general requirements, buildings, processes, transport, auditor competence) and ISO 50002 describe the same path:
- Starting data — bills and consumption for at least three years, electrical and thermal diagrams, the production schedule, existing meters.
- A site visit and an inventory of the large consumers: motors, compressors, pumps, fans, refrigeration, furnaces, lighting, buildings.
- Measurements — electricity, heat, compressed air, temperatures, flows — wherever data are missing or not credible.
- The energy balance: where energy comes in and where it is lost, by consumer and by process.
- The baseline and indicators — kWh per tonne of product, per m², per operating hour — against which savings will be measured.
- The measures, each with its energy saving, investment, payback period and risks, ranked by profitability.
- The report and the action plan.
An audit that stops at step 1 — bills and estimates — produces a compliant report but rarely produces savings.
Measurements: where the numbers come from
- A class A power quality analyser (IEC 61000-4-30), usually installed for a week at the main switchboard and at the large consumers: load curve, power factor, harmonics, voltage dips, unbalance. Assessment under EN 50160 is done over one-week intervals.
- Infrared thermography — overheated connections in switchboards, damaged insulation, losses through the building envelope.
- Ultrasonic leak detection in the compressed air network.
- Flow and temperature measurements on thermal circuits, chilled water and flue gases.
Measured data often change the priorities: a motor that everyone believes “runs at half load” may be idling all night, and a large reactive energy bill may hide faulty capacitor banks — a topic covered in detail in the guide to reactive power.
The most common measures — and the physics behind them
Variable-frequency drives on pumps and fans
For centrifugal pumps and fans, the affinity laws say that power varies roughly with the cube of the speed. Reducing the speed to 80% theoretically cuts power to 0.8³ ≈ 51%. In practice the saving is smaller — the static head and efficiencies at part load matter — which is why it is calculated from measurements.
Example with explicit assumptions: a pump drawing an average of 48 kW for 6,000 hours a year, with flow controlled by a throttling valve. With a drive and the speed reduced to 80%, power falls to about 27 kW (including the drive's losses). The saving: 21 kW × 6,000 h = 126 MWh a year — at €0.15/kWh, almost €19,000 annually.
Compressed air
According to the fact sheet of the Compressed Air Challenge programme, supported by the US Department of Energy, 80–93% of the electricity used by an industrial compressor is converted into heat, and a well-designed recovery system can put 50–90% of that heat to use for space or water heating. Leaks, a working pressure higher than needed and compressors running unloaded are the first things to check.
Other common measures
- LED lighting controlled by occupancy and daylight — technical solutions;
- reactive power compensation and harmonic filtering;
- process heat recovery, pipe insulation, steam traps;
- solar PV for self-consumption — see the guide for businesses;
- permanent sub-metering of consumption, which keeps the savings in the long run.
How savings are calculated and verified
For each measure, the calculation starts from the energy saved and the real price of energy. As a benchmark, in the first half of 2026 non-household consumers using 500–1,999 MWh a year paid on average, excluding VAT, €0.185/kWh in Romania and €0.150/kWh in the Republic of Moldova (Eurostat).
After implementation, the saving is demonstrated through measurement and verification: measured consumption is compared with the baseline, adjusted for production volume and weather. The international protocol IPMVP describes the accepted methods. This step turns a promise into a figure you can negotiate with — including in an energy performance contract, in which the investment is paid for out of the savings achieved.
What comes after the audit
- The action plan. Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires obliged companies to draw up a concrete plan for each feasible recommendation and to publish the plan and its implementation rate in their annual report.
- An energy management system (ISO 50001) for large companies: an appointed manager, indicators, annual targets, periodic review.
- Financing. In the ESCO model, the energy service company designs, finances and implements the measures, and the investment is recovered from the savings; the directive recognises an energy performance contract as an alternative to the audit and energy management obligations, provided it covers the required elements.
- Monitoring. Without meters on the important circuits, savings fade within 2–3 years.
How we work at ESCO VOLTAJ
We carry out electrical, thermal and comprehensive energy audits for industrial sites and buildings, with our own class A measurements and thermography. The result is a real energy balance and a prioritised plan of measures; we can then design and implement the measures and track them over time through energy efficiency consulting.
For an audit with legal standing, check that the auditor is listed in the electronic Register of Energy Auditors (Moldova) or authorised under the law (Romania), for the category that matches the audited site.
Frequently asked questions
Which enterprises in Moldova must carry out an energy audit?
Large enterprises that do not fall under Law No. 179/2016 on SMEs and meet all three conditions: more than 249 employees, turnover or total assets above MDL 100 million and annual primary energy consumption above 1,000 toe. The list is approved by CNED, and the first report is submitted within one year of notification.
How often must the audit be repeated?
In both countries, at least every four years. Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires the same frequency for companies with average consumption above 10 TJ a year that have no energy management system.
What fine does a company in Romania risk if it does not carry out the audit?
For operators consuming more than 1,000 toe a year, the fine is RON 10,000–200,000 and is calculated with the formula P = 0.9 × C + 10,000 (in RON), where C is annual consumption in toe. For operators below 1,000 toe that are not SMEs, the fine is RON 1,000–5,000.
Does an ISO 50001 system replace the audit?
Directive (EU) 2023/1791 ties the audit obligation to companies that do not apply an energy management system, and above 85 TJ it requires the certified system itself. Exactly how the exemption applies depends on national law — check the text in force.
What is the difference between an energy audit and an energy performance certificate?
An energy performance certificate describes a building and is required when it is built, sold or rented. An enterprise energy audit analyses all consumption — processes, equipment, buildings, transport — and proposes measures with an economic calculation.
How much does an energy audit cost?
The price is not regulated; it depends on the number of buildings and processes, the measurements required and the quality of the existing data. In Moldova, GD No. 676/2020 provides that it is set by negotiation, on the basis of a cost estimate.
Sources and references
- CNED — Questions and answers on applying GD No. 829/2024 (energy audits of large enterprises) — in Romanian
- CNED — Legal framework and related documents — in Romanian
- Law No. 121/2014 on energy efficiency (consolidated version, 2024) — in Romanian
- EUR-Lex — Directive (EU) 2023/1791 on energy efficiency — Article 11
- EUR-Lex — Recommendation (EU) 2024/2002 on applying Article 11 (energy management systems and audits)
- AGERPRES — EU asks Romania and Hungary to fully transpose EU energy efficiency rules — 04.06.2026, in Romanian
- Compressed Air Challenge — Fact Sheet 10: Heat Recovery with Compressed Air Systems — 2026
- Eurostat — Electricity prices for non-household consumers (nrg_pc_205) — first half of 2026
Prepared by the engineers of ESCO-VOLTAJ S.R.L. — an energy service company from Chișinău, active since 2007, with ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 management systems and its own class A measurement laboratory.
General information, valid on the date of the last update. Regulations and prices change: check the text in force or ask us to assess your case.
