The Vice President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, today presented the main lines of the Proposal for planning the electricity transmission network with a 2030 horizon, which will be released for public consultation shortly.

The Proposal, which foresees an investment of 13.59 billion euros until the end of the decade, will be aimed at meeting the country’s needs and achieving the objectives of the 2023-2030 National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), giving priority to industrial projects. The Vice President also outlined the key points of the Draft Royal Decree regulating investment plans for the electricity transmission and distribution networks—linked to the Planning Proposal—which begins the public hearing process today and can be consulted here .

“Today we are presenting a framework for developing an electricity grid that will allow us to continue electrifying our economy, a national opportunity. It is a framework to anticipate the deployment of grids during this decade, promote decarbonization and economic modernization projects, and strengthen Spain’s competitiveness.

We are making progress, and we need, now more than ever, to join forces in the face of the greatest challenge we face: climate change. That is why it is necessary to reach a State Pact to address the climate emergency, one that anticipates and strengthens actions and allows us to be prepared, and where we hope to count on all stakeholders,” Aagesen stated during the presentation, which can be accessed here .

QUALITY AND COSTS FOR CONSUMERS

Spain’s electricity grids boast quality indicators above the average of its neighboring countries and an outstanding capacity for integrating renewable energy, while also containing infrastructure costs for consumers. In recent years, it has also garnered interest from the economic fabric due to the low price of electricity provided by renewables. Since 2020, grid access rights have been granted for energy-intensive projects—industry, housing, data centers, electric vehicles, and more—amounting to more than 43 GW.

Previous electricity planning focused on meeting access requests for generation—in the current plan, renewables accounted for 67% of connection requests—while access requests for demand-side access saw a slow growth, very limited in the residential sector, and only fueled by the rail network. In contrast, the main driver of the next planning is demand, which represents 41% of the requests received, more than 7,000, followed by generation, with 40%, and storage, with 19%. Not only has the number of requests increased fivefold, but consumption is also larger and their types have changed significantly.

REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO DEMAND

The Planning Proposal aims to serve 27.7 GW from the transmission grid, which implies multiplying by 14 the 2 GW of the current Planning with a horizon of 2026. This strong growth also occurs in the distribution grid, with 5.3 GW, and for this reason the proposal proposes 422 connection extensions (142 in the transmission grid for new consumers, 84 for special agents, such as ADIF and ports, and 196 supports to the distribution grid), distributed as follows:

• 9 GW for industrial projects.
• 1.8 GW for residential developments and new homes.
•  560 MW for railway electrification.
• 1.2 GW for port electrification, enabling practices such as supplying vessels’ needs from land.
• 13.1 GW for green hydrogen production.
• 3.8 GW for data processing centers.

REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO GENERATION

In the case of generation, requests for new renewable energy installations are aligned with the objectives established for 2030, which shows that the country’s attractiveness in this area remains: there are requests for 60 GW of new wind power – double what was forecast in the PNIEC –, another 150 GW of photovoltaic power – five times more than in the PNIEC – and more than 100 GW of storage, which is nine times more than the PNIEC forecasts.

The proposal proposes improvement actions for 21% of the grid and new axes to further consolidate and structure the territory, with a particular focus on rural areas. These reinforcements, moreover, will facilitate the integration of renewable energy and the planned storage—including 6.6 GW of reversible hydropower—limiting expected discharges by the end of the decade to 3.3%.

The Proposed scenario foresees an investment of 13.59 billion euros, much higher than the current 2021-2026 Plan, which amounts to 8.203 billion euros, including the two specific modifications it has undergone.

INCREASING INVESTMENT LIMITS IN NETWORKS

To achieve this pace of economic electrification, it is necessary to strengthen current regulations to increase the maximum volume of investment in transmission and distribution networks charged to the electricity system, while maintaining consumer protection.

Thus, the public hearing has begun for a draft royal decree that promotes the use of existing networks—incentivizes the incorporation of evacuation or consumption infrastructure into the network that supplies more than one consumer—and promotes the use of smart technologies, all while establishing a system to monitor the proper execution of investments.

Given this increase, network investment is expected to increase by 3.6 billion euros for transmission networks and 7.7 billion euros for distribution by 2030, above the levels of 0.065% and 0.13% of GDP projected for the coming years. Added to this are investments in international interconnections, not subject to investment limits, as well as investments financed with European funds.

INVESTMENT IN DISTRIBUTION ORIENTED TOWARDS CONTROL AND DEMAND

In the case of the distribution network, the allocation of this additional investment is conditional on whether it is used to improve the network, meet new consumption needs—helping to share and offset the cost of infrastructure deployment on consumer bills—and to protect birdlife from collisions and electrocution. In more detail:

• At least 10% must improve voltage control and incorporate remote control and monitoring, with the aim of increasing data visibility and transparency, among other advantages.
• A maximum of 15% may be used for anticipatory investments, understood as those to be implemented over the next three years in off-grid areas where demand is expected to increase and industry is expected to be attracted.
• Up to 5% in adapting existing nets to protect birdlife, as new ones are designed and built with protection criteria.
• Investments needed to meet the demands of extractive and manufacturing industries, residential needs, and decarbonize mobility.

In the case of transmission networks, the Bill includes a provision allowing new substation locations to be assigned to meet the specific needs of certain consumers, such as the railway network or industry.

GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND CONTROL

The proposal increases transparency and oversight of distribution companies’ investment processes, reducing uncertainty regarding infrastructure implementation. It introduces the obligation to submit their investment plans for prior consultation and establishes the publication of approved plans. It also establishes an annual monitoring system for compliance with these plans, as well as penalties, to ensure that investments are aligned with expectations.

For example, companies will lose 25% of their incremental investment volume—in addition to that covered by the GDP limit—if, during the two years prior to the entry into force of this Royal Decree, they have not reached 80% of their specific investment limits; they will lose 10% if they have invested less than 75% of the approved investment in the previous three years; and they will lose it completely if they do not submit their annual compliance report or if, for two consecutive years, they have not used the assigned incremental investment volume.

COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ELECTRICITY BILL

Consumer protection and maintaining competitive electricity prices are also essential and guiding elements of the actions outlined in the Planning Proposal and the Draft Royal Decree. Therefore, conditions are established for infrastructure deployment and maintaining a balance between grid growth and rising demand, with the aim of minimizing the impact on electricity bills and continuing to attract projects and the productive sector. This, combined with the increased penetration of renewable energy, which reduces energy prices, will help maintain Spain’s investment appeal.

On the other hand, in addition to the direct positive effect of investment in electricity networks, there are also stimulating effects on the productive fabric and employment in general: some studies estimate that every million euros invested in networks has a multiplier effect of 1.27 million on Gross Value Added and a multiplier effect of 20 on job creation, meaning that the effect of the regulatory project will be beneficial for the economy as a whole.

Interested parties may submit their comments on the draft royal decree regulating investment plans for electricity transmission and distribution networks by October 6, using the questionnaire available here .