Circular oficial de la CNMC: acceso y conexión

Hoy se publicó una pieza regulatoria clave para la tramitación de las solicitudes de acceso y conexión a la red eléctrica. Adelantamos breve resumen.

Spain’s Official Gazette (https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2021/01/22/pdfs/BOE-A-2021-904.pdf) has published today the Circular 1/2021 from the National Commission for the Markets and the Competition (CNMC), which establishes the methodology and conditions for the access and connection of power generation facilities to the transportation and distribution grids. This circular together with the article 33 of the Electric Sector Law (https://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/2013/BOE-A-2013-13645-consolidado.pdf) and with the Royal Decree 1183/2020 (https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2020/12/30/pdfs/BOE-A-2020-17278.pdf) complete the core regulatory process that rules the access and interconnection of generation facilities (including energy storage and hybridization) to the grid. Therefore, it mainly covers the following topics:

(i) the content of the access and connection applications and permits;

(ii) the terms for the analysis of the applications related to the grid access capacity, the potential affection to other grids, and the analysis of the viability of the requested interconnection;

(iii) the permitting process and the potential outcome of the application process, defining the specific reasons for the full or partial denial of the access or interconnection permits;

(iv) the specific content of the permits, including the technical and economic conditions to be included in the permits;

(v) redress agreements;

(vi) conflicts and discrepancies;

(vii) content of the CTA (technical agreement for the access to the grid); and

(viii) transparency and specifically the obligation of publication of information about the status of all substations in terms of capacity in the web pages of the grids’ managers.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no submission of access and interconnection requests is permitted yet. The development of the tools referred to in (viii) above for the information of the status of the substations, as it is also referred to in article 5.4 of Royal Decree 1183/2020, have not been deployed yet. As per today, the grid owners and managers have at least until March 30th to do it but… Will they conclude it before then? Will they wait until the CNMC issues the resolution referred to in article 13 of the Circular 1/2021?

By José María Moutas de las Alas Pumariño (Partner at Estudio Jurídico López-Ibor Mayor & Asociados)