By Resolution of the Secretary of State for Energy dated 11 July 2025, the first tender for the allocation of demand access capacities in certain nodes of the transmission grid in Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Galicia, and the Basque Country is announced, totalling an overall access capacity of 3,681 M.
1.- INTRODUCTION
In certain nodes of the electricity transmission grid, the volume of requests exceeds the available absorption capacity, thereby requiring tenders to allocate such capacity among all applicants. Demand access capacity tenders were introduced through the reform effected by Royal Decree-Law 8/2023, which amended Royal Decree 1183/2020 of 29 December, regulating access and connection to electricity transmission and distribution grids (“RD 1183/2020”). This reform empowered the Secretary of State for Energy to call such tenders at nodes with a voltage level equal to or higher than 220 kV, although none had been called until now.
By means of the Resolution of the Secretary of State for Energy dated 11 July 2025 (published in the Official State Gazette on 17 July 2025), the first tender for the award of demand access capacities at certain nodes of the transmission grid (the “Resolution”) has been called. The tenders will be held for eight nodes of the transmission grid in Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Galicia, and the Basque Country, for a total demand access capacity of 3,681 MW.
2.- NODES AND CAPACITY
The Resolution calls for a tender to award the following demand access capacities at each of the following nodes of the transmission grid:
| name and voltage
(in kv) |
access capacity
(in mw) |
| Arrigorriaga 400 | 993 |
| Brazatortas 400 | 1.217 |
| Cristóbal Colón 220 | 503 |
| Francoli 220 | 216 |
| Mercedes Benz 220 | 387 |
| Nuevo Vigo (Bateas) 220 | 182 |
| Palos 220 | 277 |
| Terrer 400 | 410 |
The available positions at each of the nodes are as follows:
| node | position | type of position |
| Arrigorriaga 400 | ARRI400-CON1 | Demand |
| ARRI400-CON2 | Demand | |
| Brazatortas 400 | BZT400-CON1 | Demand |
| Cristóbal Colón 220 | CBC220-ATCO1 | Demand |
| CBC220-CON1 | Demand | |
| Francoli 220 | FRN220-CON3 | Demand |
| Mercedes Benz 220 | MBE220-CON1 | Demand |
| Nuevo Vigo (Bateas) 220 | NVIG220-CON1 | Demand |
| NVIG220-CON2 | Demand | |
| Palos 220 | AOS220-CON1 | Demand |
| Terrer 400 | TERR400-EER | Generation |
The applicants who may participate in the demand tender called by the Resolution are:
| node | applicant[1] |
| Arrigorriaga 400 | ARRI1 |
| ARRI2 | |
| ARRI3 | |
| ARRI4 | |
| ARRI5 | |
| Brazatortas 400 | BRAZ1 |
| BRAZ2 | |
| BRAZ3 | |
| Cristobal Colón 220 | CRIS1 |
| CRIS2 | |
| CRIS3 | |
| Francoli 220 | FRAN1 |
| FRAN2 | |
| Mercedes Benz 220 | MERC1 |
| MERC2 | |
| Nuevo Vigo (Bateas) 220 | NUEV1 |
| NUEV2 | |
| NUEV3 | |
| Palos 220 | PALO1 |
| PALO2 | |
| PALO3 | |
| Terrer 400 | TERR1 |
| TERR2 |
3.- TENDER
Tender procedure
Within fifteen working days following the publication of the Resolution in the Official State Gazette, applicants may notify the Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines (“DGPEM”) of their decision to withdraw their access and connection request that was taken into account in the tender call[2].
During this same period, applicants may also adjust the requested demand access capacity, either upward or downward, subject to certain exceptions[3]. Once this period has elapsed, the DGPEM will issue a resolution approving the final list of participants in the demand tender. The deadline for submitting the documentation associated with the applications is thirty working days from notification of that resolution.
The procedure for evaluating and assessing the applications is detailed in Annex V of the Resolution.
Criteria
The evaluation criteria applicable to the tender are: (i) the commencement date of consumption, (ii) the investment amount, and (iii) the greenhouse gas emissions avoided. Projects that reduce CO₂ emissions shall receive preferential treatment over other types of consumption that have also requested access. A scoring system will also be applied to select those projects requiring a higher level of investment and likely to be implemented more promptly within the envisaged timeframe. These criteria are set out in detail in Annex VI.B of the Resolution.
Resolution of the Tender
The tender will be resolved within six months[4] by means of a resolution issued by the person holding the office of Secretary of State for Energy, following a report from the Government’s Delegated Commission for Economic Affairs. The allocated asset to each of the successful demand facilities will be the requested access capacity, expressed in MW. The capacity is awarded to the specific facility that took part in the tender, meaning that the rights arising from such allocation are conditional on that facility continuing to be, at all times, the same facility that was awarded capacity under the tender.
Any capacity not awarded will be deemed capacity not allocated in the tender and, from the first working day of the month following publication of the resolution, will be considered released and may be granted in accordance with the general criteria for allocating demand access capacity set forth in RD 1183/2020.
Miscellaneous
- Access and connection permits: demand facilities awarded capacity in the tender must apply for the corresponding access and connection permits in accordance with RD 1183/2020; however, they will not be subject to the chronological priority criterion set forth therein. The relevant financial guarantees required under Article 23 bis of RD 1183/2020 for processing access and connection procedures for demand facilities must also be provided.
- Guarantees: each participant must post with the General Deposit Fund (Caja General de Depósitos): (i) a financial guarantee of €25/kW requested to ensure compliance with the commitment relating to the commencement date of consumption; (ii) a financial guarantee of €25/kW requested to guarantee compliance with the commitment relating to greenhouse gas emissions avoided; and (iii) a financial guarantee of €25/kW requested to ensure compliance with the commitment relating to the amount of investment. These guarantees are independent of and in addition to the guarantees required by Article 23 bis of RD 1183/2020.
- Maximum time limit for commissioning the facility: the deadline for commissioning the demand facility shall be the one stipulated in Article 26.5 of RD 1183/2020 (to sign, within five years, an access contract for a contracted capacity during one of the periods of at least 50% of the granted access capacity) or, if applicable, whichever shorter period the awardee undertakes to meet and includes in its tender application.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Annex VIII of the Resolution, which is confidential, establishes the relationship between the application codes identified in this table and the corresponding applicant.
[2] In the event that the application was accompanied by the corresponding provision of the guarantees required under Article 23 bis of RD 1183/2020 this withdrawal shall result in their cancellation, and the competent authority shall proceed to refund said guarantees.
[3] Capacity requests at demand positions that do not exceed 50 MW at 220 kV or 125 MW at 400 kV, except for requests to update existing consumption intended to increase the granted access capacity, shall be rejected. Likewise, capacity requests exceeding 500 MW at 400 kV voltage levels, or exceeding 300 MW at 220 kV, shall be rejected.
[4] From the call for tender, that is, since July 17 (i.e., 17 January 2026).
