Urgent energy and economic recovery measures after COVID-19

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. Maximum deadlines are set for grid access permits for power generation facilities. Anyone who misses the administrative milestones loses the permit and their financial guarantees are executed, unless the delay is not their fault.
2. Permit holders may give up their permits within three months of the rule taking effect and get back the financial guarantees they deposited.
3. A new compensation framework is created for renewable energies, based on a fixed price for energy awarded through competitive auctions, with the goal of passing the savings on to consumers.
4. Authorization procedures for electrical facilities are simplified, and new figures are regulated such as storage, independent aggregators, renewable energy communities and hybridization of facilities.
5. Electric vehicle charging stations above 250 kW are declared of public utility, which makes it easier to deploy them along intercity roads.
6. The national energy efficiency obligation scheme is extended until December 31, 2030, and the way each company's saving obligation is calculated is adapted.
7. Local governments may spend up to 7 percent of their 2019 surplus on pure electric vehicles or those with the CERO eco label, or ECO label vehicles when no CERO vehicle fits the service needs, and on charging points for public services such as waste collection or civil protection.
8. Various support measures are approved: a larger tax deduction for innovation in the automotive industry, streamlined environmental assessments, adjustments to the railway fee, a moratorium or rent reduction for shops in railway stations, an extension of public sector job offer deadlines, a new date for the second digital dividend, and health controls at ports and airports.

Who it affects

• Renewable energy project developers: They must meet administrative deadlines and milestones to keep their grid access permits, or give them up within three months.
• Power companies and energy retailers: New energy efficiency obligations until 2030 and, if they are SMEs, a moratorium on their 2020 contributions to the National Energy Efficiency Fund.
• Local governments: They may spend up to 7 percent of their 2019 surplus on electric vehicles and charging points for public services.
• Tenants of shops in railway stations: They can request a moratorium or rent reduction due to the impact of COVID-19, by applying within one month.
• International travelers: On arrival in Spain by plane or ship they may face health controls such as temperature checks, document checks and visual checks.

Words worth knowing

Permiso de acceso y conexión (grid access and connection permit)

Authorization to connect a power generation facility to the electricity grid and feed the energy it produces into it.

Hibridación (hybridization)

Connecting several generation technologies, for example solar and wind, to the same point on the grid.

Agregador independiente (independent aggregator)

A company that combines the consumption or generation of several customers to buy or sell energy in the market, without being their supplier.

Segundo dividendo digital (second digital dividend)

Release of the 694 to 790 MHz frequency band, previously used by television, for wireless broadband services.

Real decreto-ley (royal decree-law)

A rule with the force of law that the Government can pass urgently in situations of extraordinary need.

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