On 30 December 2020, Spanish Royal Decree 1183/2020 of 29 December 2020 on access and connection to electricity transmission and distribution networks (“Royal Decree 1183/2020”) was published in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE).

Royal Decree 1183/2020 implements Section 33 of the Spanish Electricity Sector Act 24/2013, of 26 December (“LSE”) and makes possible its application (which the eleventh transitional provision of the LSE had made subject to its entry into force).

The approval of Royal Decree 1183/2020, together with the approval of the circular which, in compliance with the provisions of Royal Decree-Law 1/2019 of 11 January, must be drawn up by the National Competition and Markets Commission (CNMC), setting out the access and connection methodology and conditions, will allow the lifting of the moratorium on the processing of new access and connection licences established in the first transitional provision of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020 of 23 June, which approves measures in relation to energy and in other areas for economic recovery (“RDL 23/2020”) and has been in force since 25 June 2020.

Royal Decree 1183/2020 partially repeals and amends Royal Decree 1955/2000 of 1 December, which governs the activities of electric power transmission, distribution, marketing and supply and the procedures for the approval of electric power facilities, and partially repeals Royal Decree 1699/2011 of 18 November, which governs the network connection of low-capacity electricity production facilities.

The purpose of Royal Decree 1183/2020 is to implement Section 33 of the LSE and to set out the rules and procedure applicable to the application for and processing and granting of licences for access and connection to the electricity transmission and distribution networks by the following persons of the electricity system:

• Producers
• Transmission operator
• Distributors
• Consumers
• Owners of storage facilities

In addition to the applicants of access and connection licences, Royal Decree 1183/2020 applies to the owners of electricity networks, the system operator and transmission network manager and the distribution network managers.

The owners of certain generation facilities of consumers opting for production on an own-consumption basis, with or without generating a surplus, are exempt from the obligation to apply for and obtain access and connection licences if the production facility has a capacity that does not exceed 15 kW and is located on developed land that has the amenities and services required by town planning legislation (second additional provision of Royal Decree-Law 15/2018 of 5 October on urgent measures for energy transition and consumer protection), as well as consumers who have contracted the supply of electricity with lower power (up to 100 kW in low voltage and 250 kW in high voltage) on developed land that has the amenities and services required by town planning legislation.

1) Joint processing of access and connection licences. Electronic processing of procedures

Royal Decree 1183/2020 provides for the joint processing in a single procedure of the applications for licences to access and connect to the electricity networks, the manager of the network for which they are requested acting as a single point of contact and being required to have an online platform for the purposes of providing information (including information relating to the access capacity existing in each node in accordance with the conditions established by the CNMC in its circular), managing the applications submitted and answering any enquiries regarding the status of the applications.

When carrying out the access and connection procedures, electronic means shall generally be used that provide a reliable record of the communications and notifications that may be made by the network manager and, where applicable, by the applicant.

2) Applications for access and connection licences of storage facilities and hybrid facilities

The applications made for licences to access and connect to the electricity networks by storage facilities that may deliver energy thereto will be regarded as access licence applications of generation facilities (irrespective of whether, at certain times, they may operate as demand facilities).

Hybrid facilities that incorporate several technologies may apply for access licences provided that at least one of them uses a renewable primary energy source or includes storage facilities.

3) Requirements for commencing the procedure to obtain access and connection licences

Before starting the procedure for obtaining the access and connection licences, the owner of the facility in question is required to do the following:

• Pay the amounts payable for access and connection evaluations established by the applicable legislation.
• Provide proof, in the case of generation facilities, of having submitted to the body responsible for granting the approval of the facility, a copy of the document showing the deposit of the financial guarantee referred to in Section 23 of Royal Decree 1183/2020 and indicating that such guarantee has been correctly provided.
• Provide, in the case of co-generation or own-consumption facilities where the electricity generation facilities share connection infrastructure with a consumer and where the applicant of the access and connection licences is not the holder of the supply contract, an agreement signed by both parties indicating the holder’s consent. 

4) General rule for managing the granting of access and connection licences

The general rule for managing the granting of access and connection licences is the rule of time-based priority, which shall be determined taking into account the date of “acceptance of the application”, which will be the “date and time of submission of the application” to the applicable network manager, and should its correction be necessary, the “date and time when all of the required documentation and information has been correctly submitted”.

Royal Decree 1183/2020 establishes the following exceptions to this general rule:

• Hybridisation of existing generation facilities.
• Access capacity tenders in new nodes of the transmission network or in nodes in which power capacity is released or emerges

5) Grounds for rejection of applications and denial of access and connection licences

Royal Decree 1183/2020 sets out the grounds for rejection by network managers of the applications for licences to access and connect to the networks. Such grounds are basically as follows:

• Failure to provide (initially or at the correction stage) the necessary information for being able to process the application.
• Failure to submit proof of having provided the financial guarantee provided for in Section 23 (in the case of electricity generation facilities).
• The granting of access in the specific node is governed by a specific procedure (e.g., just transition nodes).
• No capacity (according to the public information that is shown on the platforms made available by the network managers).

The rejection of a licence application means that the financial guarantee provided may be recovered, or in the event of there being no capacity, 80% of the total guarantee, the remaining amount being retained unless it may be shown that the online platform of the manager of the relevant network states the existence of available capacity in the node not reserved for the tenders provided for under Section 18 at 8 a.m. on the day when the guarantee is provided. Applications concerning the hybridisation of an electricity generation facility may not be rejected on such grounds.

The lifting of the moratorium on the processing of new access licences that entered into force on 25 June 2020 will not be lifted until the publication on the platforms of the network managers of information regarding the amounts of available access capacity, in accordance with the new criteria for assessing such capacity approved in the CNMC’s circular, and in accordance with the detailed specifications that, where applicable, are necessary for implementing the access and connection methodology and conditions set out in such circular. The deadline for developing the functionalities of the online platforms and ensuring that they are operational, as well as for details of their content and the frequency with which the information must be updated, shall be as established in the CNMC’s circular, notwithstanding the possibility of holding tenders for certain nodes where this is possible.

As regards the grounds for denial of access and connection licences, Royal Decree 1183/2020 refers to the provisions of the CNMC’s circular. In the event of denial of a licence for reasons not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the applicant, the financial guarantee provided may be recovered.

6) Ordinary procedure and simplifed procedure

The ordinary procedure for access and connection licences starts with the relevant application.

The network manager will have a maximum period of 20 days from receipt of the application in which to request its correction (where necessary) or to reject it (if any of the specified events occurs). If no correction is requested within the specified time period, the application will in principle be deemed to be accepted. The applicant will have a period of 20 days in which to submit the requested information, failure to reply resulting in the rejection of the application. After its correction, the network manager will have a period of 20 days in which to accept or reject the application. The network manager may make a maximum of two requests for correction in relation to the same application.

Royal Decree 1183/2020 sets out the subsequent steps of the procedure: evaluation of the existence of access capacity and the feasibility of the connection at the requested point, as well as, where applicable, an acceptability report of the upstream network manager -in accordance with the criteria set out in the CNMC’s circular- and acceptance or rejection of the application. In the case of generation facilities, the partial acceptance of the application is possible if there is access capacity but this is lower than the capacity requested.

In the event of acceptance, the applicant will be notified, within certain maximum time periods  (which vary depending on the voltage of the connection point of the facilities), of a prior proposal with the content set out in the CNMC’s circular, which must include, among other matters, the “technical specifications of the connection”, to be drawn up by the owner of the network, adjusted to certain requirements depending on whether the facilities are consumer facilities or generation facilities, and a “detailed budget”, also to be drawn up by the owner of the network, which must also be adjusted to various requirements depending on the type of facility.

The applicant may notify the network manager of the acceptance or otherwise of the prior proposal (failure to notify being regarded as its rejection) or may request a review of certain aspects, to which the relevant reply will be given. The rejection by the applicant of the prior proposal will result in the rejection of the application and the return of the guarantee. Its acceptance will result in the issue of the access and connection licences.

Producers of electricity with an installed capacity of less than 15 kW and low-voltage consumers requesting connection points of less than 15 kW may opt for the simplified procedure, provided that they are not exempt from obtaining access and connection licences. In such procedure, the deadlines are reduced by half.

7) Tenders for granting access licences in specific nodes of the transmission network

Section 18 of Royal Decree 1183/2020 provides for the possibility of holding, by means of a ministerial order, access capacity tenders to grant access licences for new electricity generation facilities that use renewable primary energy sources, by themselves or combined with storage facilities, or for new storage facilities in:

• Nodes of the transmission network where capacity is released or emerges as a result, inter alia, of the invalidity of access licences due to the breach of any of the administrative milestones referred to in Section 1 of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020 or the waiver of such licences as provided for in such section, or changes in the technical requirements that determine the access capacity available in the network.
• New nodes that are included in the development plan of the transmission network as a result of a new planning process.

To hold tenders in such nodes the availability, release or emergence of capacity must be 100 MW or more (nodes located in the mainland electricity system) or 50 MW or more (nodes located in non-mainland territories).

Royal Decree 1183/2020 sets out the characteristics of the tenders that may be held and, in particular, the applicable rules for their awarding (of a time-related nature, relating to generation technologies or the prioritisation of projects with generation technologies in the R+D+I stage) and the obligations of the successful bidders and the consequences of their breach.

8) Technical access agreements and access agreements

Royal Decree 1183/2020 establishes the obligation of the owner of the generation, distribution or consumer facility, once the access and connection licences have been issued and the administrative approvals of such facility have been obtained, to enter into a technical access agreement with the owner of the network to which it is to be connected, which will govern the technical relationship between both parties.

In the case of consumers, in addition to the above agreement, the obligation is established of entering into an access agreement with the relevant distributor, which in the case of connection to the distribution network, may be entered into jointly with the technical access agreement.

9) Financial guarantees for processing the access and connection licences of generation facilities

In the case of access and connection to electricity networks of electricity generation facilities with a capacity of more than 15 kW, the obligation of their owners remains of submitting to the body responsible for granting its approval the document showing the deposit of a financial guarantee, which is a condition sine qua non for the commencement of the procedure by the network manager. Likewise, the installed capacity of 40/kW already provided for in Royal Decree 1955/2000 is retained.  

Section 23 of Royal Decree 1183/2020 sets out provisions regarding the content of the supporting document of the financial guarantee and the cancellation and enforcement of the latter (in the event of the invalidity of the access and connection licences, unless this results from a report or decision of a public authority that prevents the construction of the facility and its non-enforcement is requested).

10) Payments as security for modifications or enhancements in the transmission or distribution networks

In the case of owners of generation or demand facilities whose connection points are in voltages in excess of 36 kV, they have the obligation, after obtaining the access and connection licences, to make certain payments (and, where applicable, to enter into project commissioning agreements) as security for modifications or enhancements in the transmission or distribution networks that must be carried out by the owners of the facilities but whose cost must be borne by the holders of such licences, the access and connection licences (with immediate enforcement of the guarantee deposited) being rendered invalid if the developer breaches such obligations in the time periods set out in paragraphs two and three of the third additional provision of Royal Decree-Law 15/2018.

11) Hybridised facility projects

Royal Decree 1183/2020, in line with the provisions of Section 33.12 of the LSE, provides for the possibility of hybridisation by the owners of generation facilities with valid access and connection licences by incorporating electricity generation modules that use renewable primary energy sources or by including storage facilities, being permitted to evacuate the electricity produced “using the same connection point and the access capacity already granted”. For such purpose, the holders of the access and connection licences must request to the network manager the “updating of the licences”. Although the rule of time-based priority does not apply (as the granting of new licences has not been requested), the hybridisation project must comply with the milestones set out in Section 1 of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, the licence having its original status again in the event of breach.

The Royal Decree stipulates the characteristics that the generation facility resulting from the hybridisation must have, non-compliance preventing the updating of the licences and resulting in the obligation to process and obtain a new access and connection licence. Likewise, it establishes the requirements that must be met in order to determine the generated energy that, where applicable, may qualify under a specific remuneration scheme.

It also sets out the specific provisions applicable to applications for access licences for hybrid electricity generation facilities that incorporate several technologies (provided that at least one of them uses a renewable primary energy source or includes storage facilities): reduction of 50% in the financial guarantee for those technologies that provide less power in percentage terms and the possibility of updating access and connection applications in progress without forfeiting time-based priority, provided that the generation facility may be regarded as the same facility.

12) Removal of the role of the single node representative (IUN)

Royal Decree 1183/2020 removes the obligation to appoint a single node representative (IUN) who acts on behalf of the generation facilities that wish to access the transmission network vis-à-vis the manager and the owner of such network, as established in Royal Decree 413/2014 of 6 June, which governs the activity of electricity production using renewable energy sources, cogeneration and waste, meaning that it will now be the applicant who, through the single procedure established in the Royal Decree, acts directly with the transmission network manager.

However, a transitional period is established in which IUNs already appointed will continue to perform their functions until the end of the access and connection procedure.

13) Non-acceptance on a transitional basis of applications for access capacity in just transition nodes

Royal Decree 1183/2020 provides that on a transitional basis the transmission network manager may not accept applications for the granting of access capacity in fair transition nodes (those indicated in the annex to Royal Decree-Law 23/2020) until by Order of the Ministry for Ecological Transition the procedures are established and concluded for granting all or part of the access capacity in the nodes affected by the closure of coal-fired power or thermonuclear facilities to new generation facilities using renewable energy sources in which, in addition to the technical and economic requirements, the environmental and social benefits referred to in the twenty-second additional provision of the LSE are taken into account.

14) Requirement of binding agreements for the shared use of evacuation lines by holders of access and connection licences in the same line position

Royal Decree 1183/2020 amends Royal Decree 1955/2000 of 1 December, in order to make the administrative approval of evacuation infrastructure subject to the submission by the owners of such infrastructure of a document that shows the existence of a binding agreement for its shared use by all of the holders of access and connection licences in the same line position.  

15) Amendment of the definition of installed capacity for generation facilities using solar power

Royal Decree 1183/2020 amends the definition of installed capacity applicable in the case of facilities using solar power technology (Section 3 of Royal Decree 413/2014 of 6 June, which governs the activity of electricity production using renewable energy sources, cogeneration and waste), so that such capacity is the smaller of either the maximum unit capacities of the photovoltaic modules that make up the facility or the maximum capacity of the investor or investors that make up the facility.

For facility approval procedures started before the entry into force of Royal Decree 1183/2020, it is provided that such procedures and the registration in the administrative register of electricity production facilities will be carried out on a transitional basis in accordance with the definition of installed capacity applicable until such time.