The Green and Connected Spain Alliance, made up of 16 leading companies and organisations from the industrial, digital and energy sectors, welcomes the Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 on urgent measures to strengthen the electricity system.

The Alliance celebrates the inclusion of several of its proposals, as outlined in its position paper published last May, and therefore urges swift ratification in Congress.

Alejandro Labanda, the Alliance’s spokesperson, emphasised: “The Royal Decree-Law introduces measures we had recommended and that move in the right direction. They will enhance industrial competitiveness by streamlining the connection of new demand to the power infrastructure.”

Notable progress includes:

• Reducing administrative complexity: Simplifying the authorisation process for EV charging infrastructure (Article 25) will help accelerate deployment, despite not fully resolving existing challenges.

• Energy tax reform to support industry: The reactivation of the support mechanism for electro-intensive industries (Article 20), offering an 80% reduction in grid charges, and exemptions for electric boilers and furnaces (Article 23) will lower energy bills. Thermal self-consumption (aerothermal) will also benefit from equal municipal tax incentives as electric self-consumption.

• More flexible grid planning: A three-year review cycle (Article 6) and the ability to make targeted adjustments (Article 18) will make it easier to respond to new demand and revive projects excluded from prior plans.

• Optimising existing grid infrastructure: The option to add new bays to existing substations without prior Planning approval (Article 19) and the government’s mandate to regulate shared 220kV grid connections (Article 20) will speed up industrial connections and improve network use.

Pending reforms not included in the Decree-Law:

• Shifting the cost of grid reinforcements from the applicant to the system itself to avoid burdening new industrial projects.

• Enabling anticipatory investments and removing grid investment caps to ensure future capacity, aligned with examples from France.

• Deeper energy tax reform for households and industry to address Spain’s high electricity bills, largely driven by taxation.

• Boosting industrial capabilities to support strategic autonomy, including bridging financing gaps for decarbonising and tech-oriented firms, and adopting regulatory tools to reduce energy transition risk, as seen in Germany and the Netherlands.