Additional Pole for an Electrical Connection: When You Need One, Who Decides and Who Pays (2026)

If the nearest grid pole is far from your future home, or the cable route would have to cross a road, sooner or later you will hear the phrase that worries every owner: “you will need an additional pole” (stalp suplimentar). Two questions follow immediately: who decides whether the pole is really necessary, and who pays for it? This guide answers both honestly, based on how the process actually works in 2026 with Retele Electrice Romania S.A. (formerly E-Distributie / Enel, part of the PPC group), the distribution operator for Bucharest, Ilfov and Giurgiu.

What an “additional pole” means in a connection project

A standard overhead connection (bransament aerian) runs a bundled, insulated cable from the last low-voltage pole of the distribution network to your building or to the connection cabinet (firida de bransament) at the property boundary.

A suspended cable, however, cannot cover any distance in a single span. It has mechanical limits: tension in the conductor, sag in the middle of the span, and minimum clearance above the ground, driveways and roads. When the distance or the geometry of the route exceeds those limits, the designer must place one or more intermediate poles between the network and your building. That is the “additional pole” — a support that exists solely so your connection cable can reach you safely.

When an additional pole is actually needed

1. The last grid pole is too far away

This is the most common scenario. In practice, when the building or the connection cabinet is more than a few tens of metres from the last pole, expect the technical solution to include at least one intermediate support. There is no universal “maximum metres” figure that applies everywhere: the designer calculates the spans according to the cable type, the terrain and the clearances required under the ANRE regulations in force and the operator’s technical norms.

2. The route crosses a road or driveway

A cable that crosses a public road must maintain a minimum height above the carriageway. To achieve that clearance, the crossing usually needs a properly positioned support on each side — so a crossing can introduce a new pole even when the total distance looks short.

3. The route changes direction

Suspended cables run in straight lines between supports. If the route has to turn — around a neighbouring plot, along a street corner — the change of direction needs a corner pole that takes the resulting mechanical load. Routes over third-party private land are generally avoided altogether, which often makes the compliant route longer and adds supports.

4. The existing pole cannot take another connection

Less obvious but real: sometimes the nearest pole is old, already carries the maximum number of connections, or was never designed for the extra mechanical load. In that case the operator may require a new pole even though the distance seems perfectly manageable.

Who decides: the operator, through the ATR

Neither you nor your installer decides whether a pole is needed. The technical solution belongs to the distribution operator. After you submit the connection request and dossier, Retele Electrice Romania analyses the site and issues the ATR (Aviz Tehnic de Racordare / Technical Connection Approval) — the document that sets out, in black and white: the connection point, the route, whether additional poles are required, and the connection tariff you will pay.

What you can influence is the quality of your application. A complete dossier with a clear site plan and correctly stated power helps the operator choose a sensible solution the first time, instead of triggering rounds of clarifications. We provide ATR assistance from 350 lei and prepare the full connection dossier and design from 900 lei — and where an alternative solution is technically defensible (an underground route, for example), we can ask for it to be analysed before the ATR is issued.

Who pays for the pole — and what it really costs

The short, honest answer: the beneficiary pays, and the amount is the one written in the ATR.

The cost of any additional pole is included in the connection tariff (tariful de racordare) calculated by the operator under the ANRE regulations in force and communicated through the ATR. It is not a separate invoice from your installer, and it is not a figure anyone can honestly quote you in advance, because it depends on:

• the type and height of the pole (typically reinforced concrete for low-voltage networks);
• the foundation and the ground conditions at the planting point;
• access for machinery — a pole on a paved urban street is one job; a pole on soft ground at the end of a dirt track is another;
• how many supports the route needs in total, and whether crossings or network reinforcements are involved.

That is why you will not find a credible fixed “price per pole” — and why you should be sceptical of websites that publish one. The only official number is the connection tariff in your ATR. What we can quote firmly is our side of the works: the execution of an overhead connection starts at 1,800 lei (single-phase), separate from the operator’s tariff.

A useful way to think about it: the ATR tariff covers everything on the network side of the connection point (including new poles), while our prices cover the works on your side — the connection itself, the cabinet, the documentation and the DIU (Dosarul Instalatiei de Utilizare / Utilisation Installation Dossier) needed for energisation.

The underground alternative

When the route would need several poles, it is worth asking whether an underground connection (from 3,500 lei) makes more sense. The cable runs through a buried protective duct instead of hanging from supports, which means:

• no poles at all on your land or along the route;
• better protection from wind, ice and falling branches;
• a cleaner look — relevant for new homes and premium plots.

The trade-off is excavation, ducting and ground reinstatement, which usually make the underground option more expensive over short distances. Over longer routes, however, the comparison with “overhead plus two or three new poles” can tilt the other way. The decision is again made through the ATR, but you can request that the underground variant be analysed — and we can support that request technically.

When it is not just a pole: grid extension

There is a point where “an additional pole” stops being the right description. If the low-voltage network itself does not reach your area — common with plots on new streets or land recently brought into the buildable zone — what you need is a grid extension (extindere de retea): a different procedure, with its own rules on who finances what under the ANRE regulations in force. The boundary between “a pole or two on your connection” and “extending the network” is drawn by the operator in the ATR, and it matters, because the costs and timelines differ significantly.

Practical advice before you commit

1. Check the distance to the last pole before buying a plot. A cheap piece of land 200 m from the nearest pole can carry a connection cost that erases the saving.
2. Do not budget from “per pole” prices found online. Treat any such figure as a guess. Budget from the ATR.
3. Submit a clean dossier. Errors and missing documents add weeks, and a vague application invites a conservative — and more expensive — technical solution.
4. Ask about the underground option early, not after the ATR has already been issued.

Talk to us before the pole becomes a surprise

If you suspect your connection will need an additional pole — long distance, a road to cross, no pole in sight — get a realistic assessment before you submit anything. SUN WATT SRL is ANRE-certified (atestat nr. 19761) for the design and execution of electrical connections in Bucharest, Ilfov and Giurgiu, and we handle DIU dossiers nationwide.

Call 0733 097 440 or write to us through the contact page — we will tell you honestly what your route needs and what is worth requesting in the ATR.