Hungary's Decree 131/2026 explained: storage levy, battery rules and permitting

Decree 131/2026 (VIII. 28.) is an omnibus Government decree that amends seven other decrees and took effect on 29 August 2026. It leaves KÁT (mandatory offtake) and METÁR (premium-type support) terms unchanged. For solar and storage owners it adds levy exemptions, battery reporting rules and revised permitting rules for renewables acceleration areas.

The title is easy to misread. The words "renewable support and storage compensation" come from the title of Government Decree 235/2025, which 131/2026 amends only in its section 3. The decree's own focus is wider: storage rules, household-scale plants, smart meters and permitting.

What is Decree 131/2026?

It is a Government decree published in Magyar Közlöny 2026/120 on 28 August 2026. Its Hungarian title is "az európai uniós forrásokhoz való hozzáférés érdekében szükséges egyes energetikai tárgyú kormányrendeletek módosításáról" ("on amending certain energy decrees needed for access to EU funds"). The preamble says it supports the energy reforms and milestones in Hungary's Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The decree also states that it serves compliance with Directive (EU) 2019/944 on the internal electricity market and with Directive (EU) 2023/2413 on renewable energy. It amends seven decrees, one subtitle each, as the Nemzeti Jogszabálytár text shows.

When did Decree 131/2026 take effect?

The general rule in section 26(1) is the day after promulgation, so 29 August 2026. Three provisions (section 16 d), section 19 and section 22) apply from 1 October 2026. All three replace "vármegyei" with "megyei" in other decrees, so they change wording, not substance.

The Nemzeti Jogszabálytár now shows the decree as lapsed from 3 October 2026, and its amending sections as lapsed too. This is routine. Under Act CXXX of 2010, an amending provision lapses the day after it has been executed (section 12(2)), and section 14(1) says this does not affect the provisions it changed. The changes now sit in the amended decrees, such as the consolidated Decree 235/2025.

Does Decree 131/2026 change KÁT or METÁR support?

No. None of its 27 sections or three annexes touches the KÁT or METÁR decrees, tariffs, premiums or eligibility. For how the two schemes differ, see how KÁT and METÁR compare.

The support link is Decree 235/2025. Its six sections, in the original text of 31 July 2025, cover storage revenue compensation and the fund that pays for it. Decree 131/2026 amends only section 3 of that decree, through its own sections 23 to 25.

How does the storage compensation levy work, and what changed?

The levy funds payments to storage operators that win the storage tender, and Decree 131/2026 widens the list of electricity that falls outside it. Under section 1(2) of Decree 235/2025, compensation is based on the difference between the net revenue the storage claimed in the tender and a reference net revenue. A negative amount is paid by the storage. The preamble speaks of a non-refundable investment grant plus compensation for operators that run the storage for at least ten years. For how this sits next to market income, see the battery storage revenue stack.

Each balance responsible party (BRP) pays its share of the amount the transmission system operator (TSO) sets. The base is electricity sold to users in its balance group (section 3(1) and (2)). The cost passes down the chain and shows as a separate line on the user's invoice (section 4(5)). A producer that sells directly to a consumer is treated like a trader in that chain.

The original text exempted three kinds of sales. Decree 131/2026 adds two more:

1. Storage operation (new point d). Electricity sold to operate a storage is exempt in two cases. A storage connected alone to the public grid is covered up to the metered quantity it fed back. A storage that shares a producer line but has its own settlement point is covered up to the quantity fed back onto that line.
2. Direct sale behind the connection point (new point e). Renewable electricity sold by the producer directly to a consumer behind the same connection point is exempt if it is sold "közcélú hálózat igénybevétele nélkül" ("without using the public grid").

Two further changes are procedural. New paragraphs (5a) and (5b) say the exemptions in points b) to e) apply only to quantities that the trader, producer or storage operator declared to the TSO through its BRP by the deadline in the ministerial decree. Producers and storage operators use the deadline set for traders. The decree also updates a cross-reference to that ministerial decree and removes a conjunction, which are drafting fixes.

What new rules apply to battery storage owners?

Stationary storage with a nominal capacity above 2 kWh must be notified to the network licensee, and it must be remotely controllable. This is the new section 13/K of Decree 273/2007, and the text sets no upper size limit.

• Notification. The user or system user sends basic technical data, in writing or electronically, to the licensee it has a contract with.
• Remote control. The storage system or its inverter needs integrated software that can receive an external instruction by electronic remote communication and change the storage's operating session. The manufacturer's technical documentation, filed with the notification, is the proof.
• Records. The licensee keeps a statistical register and reports yearly to the energy minister. It also reports counts, power and capacity to MEKH (the Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority).
• Data access. A new Annex 28 lists ten basic data points for household and industrial storage, such as nominal and usable capacity, voltage and power. Rows 5 and 7, capacity loss and power loss, apply to storage installed or operated after 1 January 2028.
• Existing storage. Storage commissioned before the decree took effect must be notified by 30 June 2027, per the consolidated Decree 273/2007.

The same subtitle also changes rules for household-scale power plants. Their grid connection steps get deadlines, and plants with a remotely readable meter may sell fed-in power to any market participant, including through aggregation. The decree also extends smart meter cases: the network operator must replace the meter within a year at low-voltage sites up to 3 x 80 A that use 4,000 kWh a year or more, and customers can request one.

What changed for solar and wind permitting?

The decree rewrote section 103/B of Decree 273/2007, which sets where a könnyített térség (a simplified, or accelerated, permitting area) may be designated. The directive's closest concept is the renewables acceleration area, which Article 15c required Member States to designate by plan by 21 February 2026. The decree does not say which article it implements.

The new text gives four grounds: a district with average annual global irradiation above 4,900 MJ/m2 (solar), wind power density of at least 400 W/m2 at 150 metres (wind), plants that directly support industrial decarbonisation, or a grid that is ready or due for meaningful capacity expansion. Excluded areas include Natura 2000 sites, protected natural areas, the national ecological network, world heritage areas, key bird and bat habitats, and military areas with their buffer zones.

Inside such an area, weather-dependent renewable plants get an administrative deadline of 30 days for the environmental permit and 20 days for the building permit. The environmental application must include data from the national park directorate on wildlife and scenic-area protection at the planned site.

Other permitting changes:

• Decree 314/2005 now says "nincs helye fellebbezésnek" ("no appeal lies") in the integrated building and environmental procedures under section 115(1) b) and c) of the electricity act.
• Decree 382/2007, as amended, says a power plant licensee or builder may apply for an integrated plant building and environmental permit where the plant needs an environmental impact assessment.
• Decrees 365/2016 and 624/2022 name the authorities: the Budapest Government Office for the procedure under point b), and county government offices acting as building authority for the power plant procedure under point c).

The decree has no list of solar districts. For wind, the ministerial decree 35/2025 (XII. 23.) EM lists 25 districts (járás) as eased areas, in the text restated from 29 August 2026.

How does Decree 131/2026 relate to the wind grid-capacity tender?

The companion ministry decree 4/2026 (VIII. 28.) GEM, published in the same gazette, required MEKH to issue a first wind tender by 31 August 2026 for at least 700 MW. MEKH's notice of the call appeared in Hivatalos Értesítő 2026/39 on that date. The 702 MVA tender guide covers the call in full, and the wind, solar and battery hybrid article covers sharing one connection.

What changed, before and after?

What this means for solar park owners, storage owners and buyers

For a solar park on KÁT or METÁR, the support terms are unchanged. The decree matters if the park sells directly to a consumer, adds a battery, or plans new capacity.

• Solar parks selling directly to a consumer. The producer sits in the levy pass-through chain, and the new point e) exempts electricity sold behind the same connection point without the public grid. Exemptions b) to e) only apply to quantities declared by the deadline, so the declaration process becomes a contract and billing task.
• Storage owners. The new exemption (d) covers electricity used to operate the storage, up to the quantity fed back. On a plain reading, charging energy lost in the round trip is outside that exemption. A co-located storage with its own settlement point falls under the second case, which makes metering design relevant.
• Existing battery operators. Notification is due by 30 June 2027, and the remote-control condition needs manufacturer documentation. Operators can start collecting those documents now.
• Corporate buyers. The levy shows as a separate invoice line, and buyers of exempt electricity are not its final cost bearers. Supply contracts and power purchase agreements (PPAs) can state who carries it.
• Developers. The acceleration-area criteria and 30-day and 20-day deadlines apply only once an area is designated. This decree does not designate solar areas.

What is still open?

Several details sit outside the decree. The declaration deadline and form are in a ministerial decree, and the TSO sets the levy rate per MWh. The decree contains neither. It also lists no solar acceleration districts, so the 30-day and 20-day deadlines have no solar area to apply to yet. Later amendments appear in the consolidated texts on the Nemzeti Jogszabálytár.