On December 29, 2020, the Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decree that will establish the new process for granting access and connection permits to the electricity transmission and distribution networks, a prior and necessary step for the installation of new power plants. Renewable energies This Royal Decree establishes the principles and criteria in relation to the application, processing and granting of permits for access and connection to the electricity transmission and distribution networks that will be applied to producers, consumers, owners of storage facilities. and owners and managers of the transmission and distribution networks. With the approval of this RD, the Executive provides certainty and legal security to the energy regulatory framework, preparing it for the orderly deployment of renewables, while helping to eliminate inefficiencies and speculative behaviors to ensure the achievement of energy policy objectives.

The most important changes are:

  • Network managers must have an online platform within three months from the approval of the RD of an online platform in which applicants can see the status of their requests and the existing access capacity at each node.
  • The moratorium continues until they are launched. online platforms and the CNMC Circular is approved.
  • New definition of power for photovoltaics, which will be the lowest of the sum of modules and inverters.
  • The access and connection procedure, interlocutors, existing figures (applicant, manager of network and network owner), as well as the terms of each of the procedures
  • The interlocutor will be the Network Manager, thus eliminating the network interlocutor (only operative in previously opened processes)
  • Access and connection permissions are authorized for facilities hybridization (at least one must incorporate renewables or storage systems)
  • Hybridization with facilities entitled to a specific remuneration regime is allowed. in that such right is lost. Hybridization of cogeneration is also allowed
  • In case of denial of the connection point due to lack of network capacity, only 80% of the guarantee will be recovered, unless it is justified that when the guarantee was established there was capacity in the node.
  • The competent Ministry will be empowered for the organization of competitions of access capacity in some selected substations.