Spain's snap election threatens to stall key energy regulations and delay multibillion-euro investments

Energy Minister Sara Aagesen's department still has several regulatory measures under development that directly affect the connection of new projects to the electricity grid, as well as investment in renewables, energy storage and data centres.

For companies in the sector, the main concern is not that these measures will automatically lapse, but that the election could delay their approval and leave the next government to decide whether to maintain, amend or revive rules that will influence investment decisions for years to come.

One of the most significant measures is the royal decree that will regulate data centres' access to the electricity grid. The Ministry of Ecological Transition closed its public consultation on the draft rules in September. The proposed legislation would introduce stricter requirements for these facilities.

The government's initiative would have a particularly significant impact on Madrid and Aragon and the PP party has already opposed it. Industry sources say the draft has brought interest in investing in Spain to an abrupt halt, while industry association Spain DC estimates that projects worth nine billion euros could be affected as companies consider alternatives if the rules go ahead in their current form.

The snap election could complicate the timetable and leave the next occupant of Moncloa to decide the final conditions that large electricity consumers will have to meet to connect to the grid. But this is not the only regulatory measure now facing the uncertainty of the election.

The ministry is also working on a reform of the procedures for authorising electricity and gas infrastructure, involving changes to several royal decrees and ministerial orders.

The aim is to shorten approval times and adapt procedures to an energy system in which renewable generation, energy storage and electricity demand are all growing. The reform covers issues that matter to developers, including the management of grid access capacity, infrastructure authorisation and certain connection procedures.

If the government does not complete the process before the election, the measure will remain pending until the next government sets out its position.

The importance of these regulations becomes clearer as Spain faces a sharp increase in applications to connect new projects to the grid.

Renewables, energy storage, data centres, whose applications already account for a third of the access capacity on the transmission grid, industrial electrification and new hydrogen-related projects are all competing for infrastructure whose capacity remains limited in some areas.

Energy companies need to know how authorities will allocate the available capacity and what investment will go into the grid to absorb rising demand. The updated PNIEC (national energy and climate plan), approved in 2024, sets Spain's targets for 2030. But achieving many of those targets will depend heavily on regulatory decisions that need to be made now and will determine how many of the projects behind those figures can actually go ahead.

Another measure now in limbo affects Spain's non-peninsular territories. The ministry is preparing an amendment to the royal decree governing electricity generation in these systems.

The commercial launch of the undersea electricity interconnector between Ceuta and mainland Spain adds a business dimension to the reform. The new connection will reduce Ceuta's dependence on local generation and require the authorities to determine what role Endesa's combined-cycle power station in the city will play in future.

The government's roadmap runs to 2030, but royal decrees, ministerial orders and administrative procedures will determine how many of the projects behind those targets actually take shape.

Several procedures also remain pending for allocating grid access capacity at so-called just transition nodes. The aim is to encourage new renewable energy and storage projects in areas affected by the closure of thermal power stations, linking access to the grid to commitments on investment, employment and training.

The Ministry of Ecological Transition has also proposed procedures for 15 nodes offering up to eleven GW of capacity. One of them is Maciñeira in As Pontes, A Coruña, with 600 MW of capacity. Its draft ministerial order is currently undergoing public consultation.

Uncertainty also extends to other tools supporting the energy transition, such as CAE (energy saving certificate), whose regulatory framework is still being developed.

Access the broad Spain national news archive