The Government approves Royal Decree 148/2021, of 9 March, establishing the methodology for calculating electricity system fees.

On 18 March 2021, Royal Decree 148/2021, of 9 March, which establishes the methodology for calculating electricity system fees (“RD 148/2021”) which, together with the new system tolls established by Circular 3/2020 of the National Markets and Competition Commission (“CNMC”), make up the regulated part of the electricity bill, was published in the Official State Gazette (“BOE”).

The approved methodology will start to apply to consumers from 1 June 2021. It will not apply to power consumed by pumping stations used exclusively for power production, power consumed by the owners of storage facilities, and power consumed by the owners of electricity transmission facilities as their own consumption for the operation of their facilities.

Below some of the relevant aspects of RD 148/2021 worth noting here:

(a) For the design of the cost structure, the same fee structure by voltage levels as that set by the CNMC has been applied. In other words, the same as the 2.0RD, 3.0 RD, 6.1 TD, 6.2 TD, 6.3 TD and 6.4 TD tolls. Furthermore, the same billing components are used;

(b) A charge structure with hourly discrimination has been established, using the same design of hourly periods as that proposed by the CNMC for the tolls;

(c) A cost allocation methodology has been adopted based on the relative flexibility of each consumer segment, grouped by voltage level and contracted power, so that fees are lower the greater the sensitivity of that consumer segment to a price increase;

(d) A binomial design is proposed for the fees, with a fixed term -dependent on the contracted power-, and a variable term -dependent on the energy consumed;

(e) A distribution of fees has been chosen in which, for low voltage consumers with less than 15 kW of contracted power, 25% of the charges will be recovered through the fixed term and 75% through the variable term. For all other consumers, 40 % of the fees will be recovered through the fixed term and 60 % through the variable term. An exception to this split is the case of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points, where, on a transitional basis, the fees will be recovered entirely through the energy component;

(f) The Voluntary Price for Small Consumers (“PVPC”) is adapted to the new structure of tolls and fees;

(g) It establishes the mandate to adapt the unit prices that finance capacity payments by ministerial order.

The fees expected for each financial year will be established by order of the Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, following agreement by the Government's Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs. The Draft Order establishing the prices of electricity system charges and capacity payments applicable as of 1 June 2021 is currently under public consultation. The content can be accessed via this link

The combination of the new fees and the tolls already established by the CNMC will allow for the electricity bill to have a greater variable component, thus promoting energy savings and efficiency. Furthermore, the methodology is aligned with the Government's objectives of decarbonisation of the economy, fair transition and promoting the competitiveness of industry, and contributes to maintaining the economic and financial sustainability of the electricity system.

Ignacio Puig
Energy Area