Cuts to electric power premiums and rules for SAREB insurance investments

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1. As of January 1, 2013, updates to payments, tariffs and premiums in the electric system no longer use the CPI. They use instead a price index at constant taxes excluding unprocessed foods and energy products.
2. Royal Decree 661/2007 on special regime generation is amended: the reference premium for all subgroups becomes 0 c€/kWh, the upper and lower limits are removed, and tariffs for several installations, such as offshore wind, are adjusted.
3. Special regime installations that choose to sell their energy on the market can no longer switch later to the regulated tariff option.
4. Solar thermal installations that won a competitive tender for innovative technology will receive the payment set in the tender resolution, calculated from the values in Order IET/3586/2011 reduced by the stated percentage.
5. Securities issued by SAREB count as eligible assets to cover insurance companies' technical provisions, capped at 3%. They are valued at cost, and unrealized gains or losses do not count toward the solvency margin.
6. Special regime installations already selling on the market automatically switch to the regulated tariff option as of January 1, 2013, unless they tell the Dirección General de Política Energética y Minas before February 15, 2013 that they want to stay on the market option.

Who it affects

• Electricity consumers: Avoids a new increase in access tolls.
• Special regime power producers: Their reference premiums drop to 0, and market sellers cannot return to the regulated tariff.
• Solar thermal tender winners: They receive the payment set in their tender resolution.
• Insurance companies: They can use SAREB securities to cover technical provisions, capped at 3%.

Words worth knowing

Régimen especial (special regime)

A category of electricity generation, mostly renewable and waste-based, with regulated tariffs or premiums.

Prima (premium)

Extra payment given to some electric installations on top of the market price.

Peajes de acceso (access tolls)

Charges paid by electricity consumers that fund the costs of the electric system.

Provisiones técnicas (technical provisions)

Money insurers must set aside to pay future claims.

Margen de solvencia (solvency margin)

Financial cushion insurers must hold to absorb unexpected losses.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries