The release of more than 20 GW of capacity for new demand is beginning to encounter its regulatory downside. After Red Eléctrica reorganized the map of access to the transmission network, the The National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) is holding a hearing on a proposal that defines how new consumption can be connected when there is no firm capacity available.
The scheme creates four types of flexible access permits for facilities connected to transport and distribution networks.
How will they work? Instead of automatically rejecting a request due to a lack of firm margin, managers will be able to grant capacity conditioned on consumption schedules, remote disconnections, or power reductions.
The proposal covers industrial projects, data centers, hydrogen production, charging infrastructure and on-demand storage , although not all will be able to access it under the same conditions.
The CNMC establishes a central rule: flexible permits may only be granted when there is no firm capacity at the requested node. Supplies that, by law, must remain guaranteed, such as essential services, certain urban developments, or facilities with backup power supplies, will also be ineligible.
The change comes after Red Eléctrica's July 1 update reflected an additional 20,882 MW for non-CEP demand . The new map opened up opportunities for large consumers, but also left a question unanswered: under what conditions can that capacity be used in a system that continues to be plagued by congestion and technical constraints?
Four permits depending on the level of flexibility
Type 0 permits will operate according to pre-established time patterns . The installation will be able to consume flexible power only within certain time slots and must block its absorption outside of them.
Until new patterns adapted to the seasonality and characteristics of each area are approved, the CNMC proposes a provisional one: consumption allowed between 00:00 and 07:59 and between 11:00 and 17:59.
The design must ensure that the installation can consume energy for at least 62.5% of the hours of the year. To monitor compliance, the owner will have to install a smart, flexible power management system, subject to certification and periodic reviews.
Type 1 authorization will be linked to specific contingencies within the substation. It will be granted when the network can meet consumption under normal conditions, but not necessarily in the event of the unavailability of any of its components.
In such cases, the distribution network manager may disconnect the installation preventively or correctively, even without prior notice, to prevent a contingency from leading to safety breaches.
The expectation is that the consumer will be able to operate for at least 90% of the hours of the year, although the document clarifies that this percentage does not represent a guarantee of supply.
Type 2 permits go a step further, transforming demand into a manageable resource in real time. Initially, they will be aimed at installations with flexible power exceeding 1 MW, capable of receiving instructions from the distributor and reducing their consumption when congestion occurs at the node or in its area of influence.
These facilities must have remote metering, remote disconnection equipment, and systems capable of enforcing power limits. They will also have an expected consumption rate of at least 90% of the hours of the year, although this does not imply a guaranteed supply.
Type 3 will be the equivalent for consumers directly connected to the transmission network. It will apply to flexible capacities greater than 1 MW and will allow action on installations that meet the requirements under normal conditions, but may generate restrictions in the event of network failures or unavailability.
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The new capacity will not be without limits.
The regulatory opening incorporates several firewalls to prevent an accumulation of flexible consumption from shifting the saturation problem from one point to another.
In type 1 and 2 permits, new capacity may not be granted when the flexible volume affecting a transport node exceeds 300 MW, when it represents more than 20% of the maximum firm capacity granted at that node, or when more than three facilities depend on the unavailability of the same element.
Furthermore, the reductions or disconnections provided for by the permit will not count as interruptions of supply for the purposes of quality indicators and will not automatically generate a right to compensation.
The CNMC still needs to define how restrictions will be distributed when several flexible consumers are affected by the same congestion . The proposal allows for the use of proportional, rotating, or technical criteria, but leaves its development for a later resolution.
The detailed system for addressing non-compliance also remains pending. The text anticipates warnings, deadlines for correcting violations, penalties, and even the revocation of the permit in serious or repeated cases.
The storage will need to be adapted
Energy storage occupies a unique place within the proposal. Access requests from batteries when they are drawing energy from the grid should be analyzed as flexible, even if the study does not detect a restriction equivalent to that of other consumers at that moment.
Installations already connected to the distribution network will have three months from the entry into force of types 0 and 1 to request the conversion of their current permits. Subsequently, when type 2 is enabled, they will have another three-month period to request a new adaptation.
During these periods, conversions will take priority over new applications as long as the granted power does not increase and the study node does not change.
Facilities that fail to adapt their permits could lose certain exemptions applicable to tolls and charges and become subject to paying the capacity reservation fee. In the transport sector, however, permits already issued for storage will be considered flexible without requiring conversion.
This point directly connects with the additional 32,424 MW that appeared in the latest storage capacity update .
A phased implementation until 2029
Type 0 and 1 permits may be requested six months after the resolution takes effect . However, type 0 facilities may not enter into service until the necessary technical framework exists to certify their control systems.
Type 2 will depend on each distributor having sufficient visibility, analysis, and operational tools . The planned deadline for its deployment is January 1, 2028.
Type 3 permits can also be requested after six months, although until January 1, 2029 they will be limited to connection points dedicated exclusively to the consumer and operated by the transport network manager.
In parallel, Red Eléctrica and the distributors will have to develop information exchange mechanisms, enabling protocols, periodic tests and real-time coordination systems.
The regulatory process is thus beginning to close the loop opened by the release of capacity. Spain is not only reviewing how many megawatts can be connected, but also what behavior the new demand must adopt to enter a grid that will continue to operate near its limits.