The Council of Ministers approved a new royal decree on Tuesday introducing urgent measures to strengthen the electricity system. The legislation, which incorporates several provisions from Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 (the “Anti-Blackout Decree” that failed to pass in July), seeks to enhance the resilience of the electricity system and promote energy storage, the modernization of existing facilities, and the acceleration of the economy’s electrification, among other goals.

Stricter supervision and control

The new regulation introduces several measures to strengthen oversight within the electricity system:

• Enhanced voltage control: The National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC’s) authority to monitor the obligations of market participants is reinforced. A public quarterly report on these activities will be published.
• Regular inspections: The regulator will carry out an extraordinary inspection plan on supply replacement capabilities every three years.
• Technical proposals: The System Operator (Red Eléctrica) must submit proposals for regulatory amendments within three to six months. These proposals will address issues such as responses to power fluctuations, voltage variation rates, and the scheduling of technical constraints. They will also define procedures for monitoring incidents and for coordinating the development plans of the transmission and distribution networks.

Boost to energy storage and electrification

An energy storage target of 22.5 GW by 2030 has been established. Priority will be given to hybridization with existing generation plants – particularly those located on already developed land – and to the streamlining of administrative procedures for such projects.

The Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) emphasized that the new Royal Decree “could provide a significant boost to energy storage by simplifying the administrative processes for hybridizing existing renewable energy plants.” The organization noted that the sector had long requested these measures, which include: a redefinition of installed capacity, preventing the need to change the competent authority or restart the hybridization process from scratch; and recognition of previously completed environmental impact studies, eliminating the requirement to duplicate their processing.

Regarding electrification, the regulation promotes the connection of new economic activities- particularly industrial ones – to the electricity grid. Key measures include:

• Expiration of demand permits: Access and connection rights for demand will expire five years after being granted, in order to prevent hoarding and speculation.
• CNAE identification: Access requests must specify the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE) code corresponding to the activity to be carried out.
• Deadlines for distributors: Response times for network extensions – such as those needed for electric vehicle charging – are shortened. They will range from five days (when no network expansion is required) to eighty days (when multiple transformer substations must be built).

Repowering and R&D&I

The decree incorporates the European definition of repowering and mandates the development, within nine months, of a national roadmap that may include strategic objectives and technical, regulatory, and financial measures to promote the replacement of existing equipment, enhance efficiency, and increase energy production.

The regulation also establishes an authorization regime for R&D platforms used to test generation or storage prototypes. Under the new framework, it will be sufficient to obtain a single operating authorization to disconnect one prototype and connect another, simplifying the testing process.

In addition, the rules governing the commissioning of generation and storage facilities are unified and clarified. The decree addresses various scenarios, such as cases where multiple facilities share evacuation infrastructure and must meet different procedural milestones.

The Spanish Photovoltaic Union (UNEF) “welcomes the easing of deadlines for meeting milestones, which enhances legal certainty, although compliance still depends on third parties,” the association noted.