Spanish Government approves a royal decree on grid access and connection

Royal Decree 1183/2020, of 29 December, on access and connection to the electricity transmission and distribution networks (the Royal Decree or RD 1183/2020) was published in Spain’s Official State Journal (BOE) on 30 December 2020 and entered into effect on the following day.

RD 1183/2020 develops and implements – thus allowing for the full application of – the provisions on grid access and connection contained in article 33 of the Spanish Electricity Sector Law 24/2013, of 26 December (LSE) and, at the same time, fulfils the provisions of paragraph 3 of the Eighth Final Provision of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of 23 June, which approves measures in matters of energy and other areas to reactivate the economy (RDL 23/2020, the main aspects of which were analysed here), which called upon the Spanish Government and the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) to approve provisions to implement article 33 LSE within three months from the date on which it entered into force.

As the Government and the CNMC have joint authority over grid access and connection, RD 1183/2020 does not contain complete provisions on grid access and connection nor does it contain regulations to fully implement article 33 LSE. Indeed, RD 1183/2020 itself details the elements that the CNMC must cover in a Circular, which is expected to be approved imminently. However, it should be taken into account that the Circular will not alone result in the lifting on the moratorium on grid access imposed by RDL 23/2020: the Eighth Transitional Provision of RD 1183/2020 points out that, other than the tenders that may be expressly called by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITERD), new joint grid access and connection applications will not be allowed until the network managers have published the information on available grid access capacity at the different nodes using the online platforms referred to in article 5.3.

The new procedure established in RD 1183/2020 will apply to grid access and connection applications made after it has entered into effect (and, on a transitional basis, to grid access or connection applications emerging after it has entered into effect but that are respectively linked to grid access or connection applications actually made before it did). The main content of the new Royal Decree is described below.

• Context and impact of the new Royal Decree
• Scope of RD 1183/2020
• Regulation reserved for the CNMC and which is therefore not included in the RD 1183/2020
• Generation facilities that must apply for grid access and connection
• Essential characteristics of the general procedure for applying for grid access and connection: chronological order of preference
• Exceptions to the standard procedure: special procedures for granting grid access
• Hybridisation
• Regulation governing the modification or updating of grid access due to modifications to a facility
• Elimination of the Single Node Representative
• Jurisdiction to resolve grid access and connection disputes
• Guarantees and payments required for generation facilities: enforcement and cancellation
• Expiry of the grid access and connection permits
• Steps to be taken after obtaining grid access and connection permits and all required administrative authorisations
• Other provisions of RD 1183/2020