Policies in Spain

Grid ownership
The Spanish electricity grid infrastructure is divided into high-voltage (primary) and medium-low voltage (secondary). The primary grid is composed of power lines, parks, converters, and other electrical elements with nominal voltages of at least 380 kV, international interconnection, and interconnections with non-peninsular territories.  Secondly, the secondary electricity grids include power lines, parks, transformers, and other electrical elements with nominal voltages of at least 220 kV that are not considered primary networks. Other facilities with nominal voltages under 220 kV that fulfill transport functions, grids with nominal voltages of at least 66 kV in non-peninsular territories, and island interconnections are listed as part of the secondary networks.

The high-voltage electricity grid is owned and operated by the sole existing Transmission System Operator (TSO) in the country: Red Eléctrica de España (REE). REE is responsible, among others, for maintaining, developing, and expanding the grid; managing and operating the transmission of electricity between external and peninsular areas; and guaranteeing third-party access to the transmission grid under equal conditions. On the other hand, the medium-low voltage electricity grid is owned, expanded, maintained, and operated by the Distribution System Operator (DSO) operating in each geographical region. 

Island interconnection
All of Spain is under the national TSO (Red Eléctrica de España) umbrella, including non-peninsular territories (the Islands and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla).

Balearic Islands
There is an electricity grid network in each island and, also, Mallorca is connected to the mainland via an underwater line. In addition, the smaller islands (Ibiza and Formentera) are connected to Mallorca and, thus, indirectly connected with the mainland. 
Source: Balearic Islands The Balearic electricity system (ree.es)

Canary Islands.
There is an electricity grid network developed in the main islands (Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote) and an underwater line between Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. It is also important to point out the particular problems in the Canary Islands, as the possibilities of interconnection between islands are generally subject to technical constraints due to the high seabed depths between islands and very high costs. No connection to the mainland Spain.
Source: Canary Islands The Canary electricity system (ree.es)

General rules and legal basis
Law 24/2013 (Electricity Act), of December 26, is the main piece of legislation governing the electricity market in Spain. This Law establishes the regulation of the electricity sector to guarantee the electricity supply and adaptation to consumers’ needs in terms of safety, quality, efficiency, transparency, objectivity, and minimum cost. The activities covered are generation, transmission, distribution, energy recharging services, commercialisation, and intra-community and international exchanges, as well as the economic and technical management of the electricity system. In this Law (Art.34), the distinction between primary and secondary electricity grids is established as well as the scope included under each one. Also, the definition, rights, and obligations of Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs) are detailed under this Law.

The TSO’s main responsibilities are to guarantee at all times the security and continuity of the electricity supply and to manage the transmission of energy in the high-voltage infrastructure (Law 24/2013 Art. 36 ) – operating, expanding, managing, and maintaining. It is responsible for the transmission from the generating power stations to the consumption areas and, its operational functions are carried out via control centres in to guarantee at all times the correct functioning of the electricity supply process, both in the peninsular electricity system and in the non-peninsular electricity systems.

Similarly, DSOs are authorised companies or co-operatives of consumers and users that distribute electricity to end consumers (Art 6e, Law 23/2013), and construct, maintain, and operate distribution facilities. Currently, there are 333 DSOs in Spain, including 5 legally unbundled (Nov/2024). Distribution facilities comprise lines, parks, transformers, and other facilities with a nominal voltage under 220 kV, i.e., secondary grid. Law 23/2013 Art. 36 contains the rights and obligations of the operator, which include, among others, the construction, operation, maintenance, and development of its distribution and possible interconnection with other networks. Additionally, DSOs must create and execute maintenance plans for their distribution network facilities, and they are the first point of contact to analyse the requests for connection to the distribution networks.

The National Regulatory Authority (NRA) in Spain is the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) for several sectors, including electricity, but it is not involved in grid management and operation. However, it is the responsible body in charge of approving the methodology and conditions for access and connection to the grid (see Art 11, Royal Decree-Law 1/2019).

Primary transmission grid is planned over six-year periods and, approved by the national government as stated in Law 24/2013, Art.4. The TSO (Red Eléctrica de España) together with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge´ (MITECO) and the Autonomous Communities (plus the participation of DSOs) shall prepare proposals for the grid development to account for forecasts associated with the installations of new elements such as lines, substations, transformers, among others. Royal Decree 23/2020 introduces measures to lessen administrative barriers aligned with the energy transition. Accordingly, provisions are included for storage, independent aggregators, communities’ storage, renewable energy communities, hybridisation, and high-capacity charging infrastructure >250kW to enhance grid flexibility and facilitate RES integration.

In line with the Spanish National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NIECP), a new energy grid development Plan 2021-2026 was approved on 22nd March 2022. The planning provides for binding planning and indicative planning. Binding planning refers to the development of the transmission network in accordance with the guiding principles set out in Order TEC/212/2019, while the indicative planning of the target scenario fully reflects the NIECP goals. The design of the future transmission grid is intended to allow for the massive integration of new renewable generation, eliminating the structural limitations of the grid, covering the needs of international interconnection and connection of non-peninsular territories, while at the same time, maintaining and improving the security of supply of the Spanish electricity system.

Development of electricity grids for RES integration

In Spain, the primary transmission grid is planned over six-year periods and approved by the national government as stated in Law 24/2013, Art.4.

The TSO (Red Eléctrica de España) together with MITECO and the Autonomous Communities (and the participation of DSOs) shall prepare proposals for grid development to account for forecasts associated with the installations of new elements such as lines, substations, transformers, among others (Articles 8 to 16, RD 1955/2000).

Royal Decree 23/2020 introduces measures to lessen administrative barriers aligned with the energy transition. Accordingly, provisions for storage, independent aggregators, communities’ storage, renewable energy communities, hybridisation, and high-capacity charging infrastructure >250kW enhance grid flexibility and facilitate RES integration.

In line with the Spanish National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NIECP), a new energy grid development Plan 2021-2026 was approved, 22 March 2022. The planning provides for binding planning and indicative planning. Binding planning refers to the development of the transmission network in accordance with the guiding principles set out in Order TEC/212/2019, while the indicative planning is the target scenario to fully reflect the NCIEP goals.

The design of the future transmission grid is intended to allow for the massive integration of new renewable generation, eliminate the structural limitations of the grid, cover the needs of international interconnection and connect non-peninsular territories, while at the same time maintaining and improving the security of supply of the Spanish electricity system.

Specifications for islands, isolated grids, microgrids, local grids, etc.
For the purposes of energy planning defined in Art. 4 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, 2013, for isolated systems no-connected to mainland, “the estimate of the power to be installed to cover the demand in each isolated electricity system shall be the one that provides a monthly value of probability of coverage deficit of less than one day in 10 years”.

In addition, RD 738/2015 regulates the “electricity production activity and the dispatch procedure in the electricity dispatch in the electricity systems of the non-peninsular territories”. Lastly, island territories are also covered under RD23/2020 (see above), and the focus is especially on storage and new interconnection lines between islands.

Exceptions
Main exceptions are related to the remuneration price structure, and the electric generation is excluded from participation in the liberalised peninsular market (and the EU internal market). As a substitute, there is a system in place for dispatching production units in order to cover demand (expected) under a regulated system.

Connection procedure 

To connect a plant to the grid, the project developer must first apply for and obtain the access and connection permits. The authority will verify that the request meets all requisites and that there is sufficient capacity. After the permits are issued, the producers and the grid operator will enter into a contract.

Rules concerning the connection of a new producer to the grid

Spanish regulations establish that the construction of generation plants (and the facilities or connection nodes associated with them) require Administrative Authorization as per Law 24/2013, Art. 53a). i.e., Preliminary administrative authorization to prove that the proposed facilities comply with the necessary technical and security standards as well as an environmental impact assessment, also, the location of the facilities is consistent with land planning requirements.

However, this could only be granted if a Grid access and connection permit was previously obtained (see NCMC circular 1/2021 of 20 January for further requirements). Depending on the infrastructure, various other permits could be necessary, such as planning requirements, municipal activity licenses, or water authorisations.

To sum up, the construction of new energy production plants is also subject to strict environmental control, and an environmental impact assessment must be undertaken in order to assess how the plant affects the surroundings and the actions to be taken to prevent and mitigate the risk of environmental damage. This must be presented to the appropriate authority (usually at the regional level) and an Integrated environmental authorisation (IEA) is issued, which establishes the environmental conditions that the generation plant must comply with. The IEA process was temporally speed up by Royal Decree-Law 20/2022, Art. 22 & 23 by an express authorization procedure covering all sizes of RES installations.

Then, Approval of the execution project (construction) is required. A technical project must be developed together with a responsible declaration to endorse the compliment of the applicable regulations, among other things. Approval of the construction project means approval of the engineering construction project necessary for the works to start. Lastly, the Operating license must be obtained, without which the relevant facility cannot start its commercial operation.

In general, depending on the capacity of the generation plant, the above approvals will be granted either by the Spanish central authorities or by regional authorities, depending on the capacity of the generation plant.

Rules for connecting RES and storage to the grid

According to article 26.2 of Law 24/2013, producers of electricity from renewable energy sources and high-efficiency cogeneration shall have priority access and connection to the grid, under terms to be determined by regulation, based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. RD 1183/2020 established that the criterion for awarding the concession of access to the grid will be that of temporary priority; however, in order to promote the penetration of renewable energies, there are exceptions to this rule:

• In the cases of the hybridisation of existing generation facilities
• In specific nodes where power capacity is made available, the government can call for an access capacity auction where only renewable energy projects will be able to participate (articles 7, 18, and 27, RD 1183/2020).

Royal Decree 23/2020 introduced modifications to Law 24/2013, of December 26, of the Electricity Sector, in order to eliminate administrative barriers to support RES deployment and integration.

Title I, Art. 1&2 “regulate the conditions to maintain and gain access and connection to the transmission and distribution to the electricity transmission and distribution networks, taking into account the technical feasibility and soundness of the projects focus on RES projects”. Art. 3 integrates a modification to “Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, which regulates the transport, distribution, commercialization activities of transmission, distribution, commercialization, supply and authorization procedures for the procedures for the authorization of electric energy facilities”.

With the objective of increasing the utilisation and management of renewable energy, Art. 4 “enables hybridisation, i.e., access to the same point in the grid of installations of the grid of installations using different generation technologies, provided that this is technically possible”. Lastly, in line with Directive 2019/944 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 June 2019 of 5 June 2019 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity, “include urgently in the Spanish legislation the storage figure definition and conditions to be integrated in the grid”. In addition to supporting new business models, include the aggregators' figure and the definition of renewable energy communities.

RE producers shall apply for and obtain access and a connection permit to the distribution and/or transmission network. Both permits are treated and processed as one single application, and the single point of contact for the applicant is the TSO or the DSO (article 5, RD 1183/2020). The main steps are: 

• The applicant must submit to the authority proof of having deposited a financial guarantee of €40/kW installed (article 23, RD 1183/2020)
• Submission of a request for access and connection permits to the TSO or DSO
• The authority assesses the availability of access capacity and the connection requirements
• If the authority accepts the request, it will communicate the conditions to the applicant, and if she accepts this preproposal, the permits will be issued.
• Once the project obtains all the required administrative authorisations, a technical access contract shall be signed between the parties (article 21, RD 1183/2020).
• Execution of connection works.
• Connection of the plant to the grid.

Specifications for islands, isolated grids, microgrids, local grids, etc.

The TSO for islands is also REE, and the connection to the grid of RES installations is sheltered by the previous question. The particularities, when applicable, are introduced by each Autonomous Community's rules and the local DSOs operating in the area.

Exceptions

In the Spanish legal framework, Royal Decree-Law 23/2020 covers specifications for peninsular and non-peninsular regions and it introduces the definition for energy communities. These are defined as “legal entities based on open and voluntary participation, autonomous and effectively controlled by partners or members that are located in the vicinity of renewable energy projects owned and developed by such legal entities, whose partners or members are natural persons, SMEs or local authorities, including municipalities and whose primary purpose is to provide environmental, economic or social benefits to their partners or members or to the local areas where they operate, rather than financial gain". Therefore, these communities can rely on installations of any energy vector, as long as it is renewable.

Possibilities to differentiate RES in scale and technology

Referring to connection to the grid, installations shall follow a similar process, independent of technology. Smaller installations could benefit from fast procedures, depending on the Autonomous Community, such as ´Comunidad Autonóma de Madrid´, to ease the development of the self-consumption market.

All consumers have the right to access and be connected to the electric energy transmission and distribution networks in the national territory(Art 7, Law 24/2013). In addition, consumers have the right to contract the supply of electricity at voluntary prices for small consumers or the last energy supply at voluntary prices for small consumers or last resort tariffs (Art. 17).

Regarding prosumers, Royal Decree 244/2019 regulates the access and connection to the grid for installations that need to discharge surplus electricity through it. Prosumers have the right to connect to the grid under the technical conditions defined by the Regulations, the Transmission System Operator (TSO), and the DSOs. They must include in the installation works all measures (metering, power factor correction devices, …) required to ensure that their operation will not interfere with the normal operation of the system.

The rights and obligations of the energy producers are, among others: 

a) The use in their production units of the primary energy sources they consider most appropriate, respecting in all cases the yields, technical characteristics, and environmental protection rules contained in the operating permit; 

b) Dispatching their energy through the system operator under the terms established by regulations;

 c) Access to the transmission and distribution grids, under the terms established by regulations. 

Equally, obligations are also set in the legislation, such as obtaining adequate authorisations, to develop the activity and, in particular, adopting the required safety, availability and maintenance needs. Lastly, they must comply with all operating procedures stated by TSO, market operator, and Administration bodies (national, regional, and local). 

Last but not least, an Active Demand Response Service (ADRS) is in place as a regulated service that allows industrial and electro-intensive consumers to adjust their energy consumption flexibly in response to the needs of the electricity system coordinated by the TSO. This service, created to balance energy generation and demand, offers companies the opportunity to reduce their energy costs and obtain compensation for reducing their consumption at critical times. The specific conditions are established in  P.O.7.5. (DCOOR/DE/003/23) from the Spanish NRA. The procurement of the active demand response product (MW) will be carried out through an auction mechanism. Each demand-side facility that is part of this service, previously fulfilling all accreditation needs, must individually accredit a supply capacity greater than or equal to 1 MW in the periods in which the service is provided

Rights and obligations of customers and prosumers
All consumers have the ”right to access and be connected to the electric energy transmission and distribution and distribution networks, in the national territory, under the terms established in Art 7. Law 24/2013”. In addition, consumers have the right to “contract the supply of electricity at the voluntary prices for small consumers or last energy supply at the voluntary prices for the small consumer or last resort tariffs” (Art. 17).

Regarding prosumers (or producer-consumer), Royal Decree 244/2019 regulates the access and connection for installations that need to discharge surplus electricity through it. As above, they do have the right to connect to the grid c/w the technical conditions set by regulations, the TSO and DSO and they must include in the installation of all measures (metering, power factor correction devices, …) in order to ensure that its operation will not interfere with the normal operation of the system.

Rights and obligations of plant operators
Regulated by Art. 26, Law 24/2013, the rights and obligations of the energy producers are, among others:
- Use the primary energy sources they consider most appropriate in their production units, respecting in all cases the yields, technical characteristics, and environmental protection conditions contained in the operating permit.
-    Dispatch their energy through the system operator under the terms established by regulations. 
-    Access to the transmission and distribution grids, under the terms established by regulations. 
-    (…)
The obligations, among others, are:
-    Development of all those activities necessary to produce electric energy in the terms foreseen in its authorization and, in particular, with respect to safety 
availability and maintenance of the installed power.
-    Adopt and apply the safety standards, technical regulations and homologation or certification of installations and certification of facilities and instruments established by the competent Administration.
-    Comply with all operating procedures stated by TSO, market operator and Administration bodies (national, regional and local).
-    (…)

15)Are there any specific rules or obligations concerning RES plant operators?
Operating and management of the grid is governed by the transmission system operator (TSO) and the regional distribution system operators (DSOs). The obligation related to RES plant operators is to comply with the requirements to get access and connection permit as previously described (Royal Decree 23/2020, Title I) as well as, comply with the procedures of administrative register as an electricity producer and the requirement as per Royal Decree 43/2014, Title II, Art 7. as several specifics are integrated over the general process tailored to RES facilities.

Task of the DSO/TSO
Spanish regulations distinguish between primary and secondary electricity grids (Law 24/2013, Art 34): primary and secondary grids. As stated, the primary grid is composed of “power lines, parks, converters and other electrical elements with nominal voltages of at least 380 kV; International interconnection facilities; Interconnections with non-peninsular territories. The secondary electricity grids include power lines, parks, transformers and other electrical elements with nominal voltages of at least 220 kV that are not considered primary networks; Other facilities with nominal voltages under 220 kV that fulfil transport functions; Grids with nominal voltages of at least 66 kV in non-peninsular territories; Island interconnections not considered primary networks”.

The TSO (Red Eléctrica) main responsibility is to guarantee at all times the security and continuity of the electricity supply and to manage the transmission of energy in the high voltage infrastructure (primary grid) – operating, expanding, managing and maintaining. Law 24/2013 Art. 36 contains the rights and obligations of the operator, which include, among others: 
-    Developing, expanding, operating and maintaining in line with the approved plans.
-    Assemble investment plans (annual and pluriannual) and submit them to the competent Ministry for approval.
-    Comply at all times with the instructions of the system operator and/or any request.
-    Ensure non-discrimination between users (or categories of users) to the transport network, i.e., provide all the information they need to connect efficiently to the network. 
-    Granting permission for connection to the transport network.
-    (…)

It is responsible for the transmission from the generating power stations to the consumption areas. Its operational functions are carried out via control centres to guarantee the correct functioning of the electricity supply process at all times, both in the peninsular and non-peninsular electricity systems.

Similarly, DSOs are authorised companies or co-operatives of consumers and users that distribute electricity to end consumers (Art 6e. Law 23/2013), and construct, maintain and operate distribution facilities. Distribution facilities comprise lines, parks, transformers and other facilities with nominal voltage under 220 kV, i.e., secondary grid. Law 23/2013 Art. 36, contain the rights and obligations of the operator, which include, among others:

-    Construction, operation, maintenance and, if necessary, development of its distribution and, if necessary, the development of its distribution network, as well as, if applicable, its interconnections with other networks. 
-    Create and execute maintenance plans for its distribution network facilities. 
-    Analyse the requests for connection to the distribution networks in accordance with the criteria established by regulation.
-    Assemble investment plans (annual and pluriannual) and submit them to the competent Ministry for approval, Autonomous communities or Autonomous cities.
-    (…)

Role of the National Regulatory Agency (NRA)
The national regulatory authority, the CNMC, is the National Regulatory body in Spain for several sectors, including electricity but it is not involved in grid management and operation but, it is the responsible body in charge of approving the methodology and conditions for access and connection to the grid (see Art 11, Royal Decree-Law 1/2019). Thus, it was published in the Circular 1/2021, of January 20, 2001, which establishes the methodology and conditions for access and connection to the transmission and distribution networks for the distribution of electric energy from production facilities.

Moreover, CNMC oversees daily and intraday market rules as well as operating procedures of system operation, including balancing markets and non-frequency markets. It also sets out the methodology for calculating network access tariffs according to transmission and distribution costs and supervises access to cross-border interconnections.

Priority for RES and curtailment 

According to article 26.2 of Law 24/2013, electricity from RE installations and, after them, from high-efficiency cogeneration installations, shall have priority of dispatch under equal economic conditions in the market.

The right to access and use the grid may be temporarily restricted only for lack of the necessary capacity, the justification for which shall be based exclusively on criteria of security, regularity or quality of supply (articles 52, 56, and 65 RD 1955/2000).

Grid use/management rules on islands
Grid use and management on islands are the responsibility of REE (national TSO) and DSOs.
Royal Decree 738/2015, of July 31, 2015, is the rule that regulates the particularities of the activity of electricity production and the dispatch procedure in the electricity systems of the non-peninsular territories, as well as the procedure for obtaining the favourable resolution of compatibility. For other activities related to the supply of electricity, such as transmission, distribution or commercialisation, the same rules apply as in the peninsular system. 
Source: MITECO - Territorios No Peninsulares (TNP) (energia.gob.es)

The grid development planning process is a participatory process conducted by Spain’s General State Administration, its autonomous communities, CNMC, Red Eléctrica (TSO), and all of the sector actors covering mainland and non-peninsular territories, regulated by Law 24/2013. 

This is a consultative process in which the TSO and DSOs present proposals for the development of the transport network and provide the information required in their territory. Subsequently, the TSO compiles all information received and, together with the criteria set by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), carries out the pertinent technical studies and prepares the initial overall development proposal that would be approved at a higher level. 

Once the Plan is approved, it becomes mandatory, and the TSO/DSOs are responsible for undertaking the works for new lines, substations, and transformers, among other things. When the connection requires new installations, the investment costs will be borne by the promoter of the connection and by the future users as well.

Procedure 

The TSO (Red Eléctrica de España) together with MITECO and the Autonomous Communities (and the participation of DSOs) shall prepare proposals for grid development to account for forecasts associated with the installations of new elements such as lines, substations, transformers, among others (articles 8 to 16, RD 1955/2000). When the connection requires, for example, a new substation of the transmission or distribution network or the possible reinforcement of the existing or planned line, the necessary investment will be borne by the promoter or promoters of the connection. If the new installations developed are used by another consumer or generator, the new user shall also contribute to the investments made by the first user, for the proportional use of the installations´ capacity. The rest of the reinforcements associated with both grid development and any necessary switchgear replacement shall be included in the planning process (article 32, RD 1955/2000).

Tasks of the DSO/TSO

The planning process for grid development, regulated in Law 24/2013, ’s a participatory process conducted by Spain’s General State Administration, its autonomous communities, CNMC, Red Eléctrica (TSO) and all of the sector actors covering mainland and non-peninsular territories. This is a consultative process, where DSO/TSO present proposals for the development of the transport network and provide the information required in their territory.

The TSO (Red Eléctrica) compile all info received and, together with the criteria set by the responsible (MITECO), carries out the technical the pertinent technical studies and prepares the initial development proposal for the Ministry of Transition and Demographic Challenge. Once the Plan is approved, it becomes mandatory, i.e, the facilities specified in it need to be built. Afterwards, the TSO/DSOs are responsible for undertaking the works for new lines, substations, transformers, among others. When the connection requires new installations, the investment costs will be borne by the promoter of the connection and by the future users, too. 
(Complement also with question 16 for further details).

Obligations and rights of plant operators

They can participate, together with other stakeholders, in the consultative process to develop the national grid development plan. They present proposals for the development of the network to be studied and must provide all information required by MITECO (and delegates).

Obligations and rights of customers?

They can also participate in the process by submitting allegations during the consultation period and the public Strategic Environmental Assessment information period following the submission of the planning.

Role of the NRA

Consulting services. At the beginning of the MITECO process, the NRA prepares a report with recommendations for economic-financial sustainability criteria and, at the end of the process, submits to the Ministry an assessment of compliance with these criteria in the proposal for the planning of the transport network.

• TSO
• DSOs
• CNMC
• MITECO

As per the end of 2024 data, there is a sole TSO operating in Spain (Red Electrica), 5 legally unbundled DSO and 332 accredited electricity suppliers registered in the CNMC. See link: DSO electricity in Spain | CNMC

Smart Meter Penetration Rate

As stated in Title II, Art 4., aggregators are defined as “participants in the electricity generation market that provide aggregation services and that are not related to the customer's supplier”. Thus, this figure will bring flexibility into the electricity market and will contribute to the renewable energy deployment.

99.6% Source: 2020 DSO facts and figures Eurelectric

The smart meter penetration rate in the households (below 15KW – type 5) is 99,64 at 2019.

Sources: INF/DE/180/18 Last milestone of smart meters upgrading plan. 

Report CNMC 2019.pdf (cnmc.es)

Policies on digitalisation of the electricity grid

The National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (NIECP 2023-2030) foresees that renewable energy will cover 81% of electricity demand by 2030. To achieve this, the electricity system must be transformed from its current centralized, and unidirectional design to a distributed, multidirectional, intelligent, and flexible one, thanks to the digitalization of the grid, storage systems, and demand aggregation and management. The smart metering penetration rate in households reached 100% in 2022, leading the Europe deployment.

The National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) includes support for new renewable and distributed energy schemes as well as special attention to mechanisms to enhance grid flexibility and connectivity. Particularly, Component 8) deals with the “deployment and technological upgrading of electric power distribution networks to integrate renewable energy integration of renewable energies, demand management and the progressive electrification of end-use energy and the progressive electrification of energy end-uses including several key reforms and funding allowance”. 

New business models will be also implemented. In this topic, the concept of the independent aggregator was introduced by the Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, 23rd of June in Spain, and more regulation is expected to follow. In this line, a Public Hearing and Information on the Draft Royal Decree approving the General Supply and Contracting Regulations and establishing the conditions for the commercialization, aggregation, and consumer protection of electricity was closed in September 2024, awaiting publication by MITECO new regulation on this matter. 

As stated in Title II, Art 4., aggregators are defined as “participants in the electricity generation market that provide aggregation services and that are not related to the customer's supplier”. Thus, this figure will bring flexibility into the electricity market and will contribute to the renewable energy deployment.

Total number of active electricity nationwide suppliers: 232 Switching rates for electricity household customers in 2018: 10.4% Source: Monitoring Report on the Performance of European Retail Markets in 2018. CEER Report

How does the tariff methodology account for the deployment of RES? 

How does the tariff methodology adapt to islands, microgrids, local grids, etc.? 

Are any policies being produced to account for such developments?

Are there existing caps for RES installed capacity in the network?

No. All new capacity must follow the access and connexion procedure which is limited, among others, the spare capacity to add new generation capacity is analysed as well as the requirements necessary for the safety and quality of supply.

What are the curtailment rules for RES generation? 

There are currently no curtailment rules under Spanish legislation. 

Who is responsible for voltage balancing, frequency reserve, unit dispatching, electrical system management?

The TSO (Red Eléctrica)

Who has access to metering data? 

The DSO in charge of the area where the meter is located and the final consumers too via web.