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Sweeping electricity overhaul aims to shield Spain from future blackouts
The anti-blackout plan includes faster renewable permits, new data rules and help for energy storage
Spain’s government is hoping to push through a major reform of its electricity system, introduced after the extraordinary blackout that hit the country on April 28. The Royal Decree-Law 7/2025, also known as the ‘anti-blackout decree’, was approved by the Council of Ministers in late June and now heads to Congress. But whether it will pass is still unclear.
The law includes a wide range of urgent measures to strengthen the national grid and make Spain’s energy system more resilient. The Ministry for Ecological Transition, which promoted the legislation, says the aim is to ensure a reliable supply of electricity and prevent another national catastrophe.
It also includes a package of reforms to accelerate the green energy transition, such as support for solar self-consumption, energy storage and electric heating systems. In addition, the decree gives concessions to Catalonia and the Basque Country, helping President Sanchez secure political backing.
The decree is broken down into three main areas.
1. Making the grid more reliable and transparent
The law introduces stricter supervision of the electricity system. Spain’s energy regulator, the CNMC, will now assess how the grid is performing every three months. This includes checking how well Red Eléctrica, the national grid operator, manages voltage levels and how quickly it can respond to problems. The company will also have to suggest improvements to stability over the coming year.
One key part of the plan is to give Red Eléctrica the job of managing customer data from Spain’s 30 million smart meters. This data is currently held by more than 300 separate distribution companies. The change is designed to improve data security and make energy information more accessible to consumers and regulators.
2. More support for storage, renewables and electrification
The law would simplify and speed up the process for approving energy storage projects, cutting the wait time in half. It also declares storage systems and related infrastructure to be in the public interest, making it easier to get permits.
Battery systems can be added to existing wind and solar farms with fewer bureaucratic hurdles.
A new role, the “self-consumption manager” will represent participants in shared solar projects. The law also introduces the figure of the “independent aggregator” who will coordinate small energy producers and consumers to help balance supply and demand on the grid.
To encourage more electrification in industry and transport, the law will require power grid planning reviews every three years, with smaller updates every two. These changes are meant to help Spain respond more quickly to technological advances and energy demand.
Permit deadlines for electricity companies will be shortened. Unused demand access permits will expire after five years if they are not used at least halfway, to prevent hoarding of capacity.
Energy-intensive industries will benefit from renewed toll exemptions and a change to the business tax law that removes electric boilers and furnaces from taxable capacity. The idea is to eliminate barriers to electrification in heavy industry.
3. Boosting renewable self-consumption and electric vehicles
The decree also expands the rules for self-consumption, including longer distances for solar connections. The current limit of two kilometres for connecting a solar system to the grid will be increased to five kilometres for projects up to five megawatts. This is expected to support the creation of energy communities.
Electric vehicle charging stations will also be easier to set up. When an environmental report or declaration of public interest is not needed, no formal authorisation will be required.
Homeowners and building communities who want to switch to aerothermal or geothermal systems for heating and cooling will be able to benefit from tax breaks. Local councils can offer discounts of up to 50% on property taxes and 95% on construction taxes, similar to previous incentives for solar panels.
While the decree appears to make sense as a preventative measure against future blackouts, the government is expecting strong opposition when it brings the matter to debate in Congress on Tuesday July 22.
The measure has strong support from the renewable energy sector, but its fate now depends on a complex political calculation.
The PSOE will need the backing of all its allies, including Sumar, ERC, Junts, PNV, EH Bildu, BNG and Coalición Canaria. That would be just enough to pass the measure with 175 or 176 votes. However, Podemos has already said it will vote against the decree.
Podemos argues that the plan reflects the interests of large energy companies and fails to guarantee blackout prevention. With their vote against, the government may need the Popular Party to abstain for the law to pass. At the moment, everything is still in the balance.
Image: Freepik
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