Royal Decree Law 9/2013 on urgent measures to guarantee financial stability in the electricity system

During 2013 and 2014 the electricity sector underwent a major legislative reform, with the aim of establishing a regulatory framework to guarantee financial stability in the electricity system, removing deficit in the electricity sector once and for all, preventing future deficit, simplifying and clarifying electricity bills and encouraging competition in domestic electricity tariffs to foster competition towards consumers, while maintaining the discount known as the "social bonus".

The reasons and fundamental principles of this reform were the same as those that motivated the previous support schemes for the production of electricity from renewable-energy, co-generation and waste-to-energy power plants: the promotion of technologies with environmental benefits, and the principle of reasonable profitability.

Although Spain has adopted various remuneration methods for calculating the support systems, the principle of reasonable return is the common basis for all of them.

Royal Decree Law 9/2013 replaced the previous FIT and made reference to the subsequent approval of a royal decree that would establish the legal regime and subsidies applicable to installations that generate electricity from RES, entitled to premium-based remuneration at that time.

It replaces the system of tariffs with a system offering on one hand incomes from the sale in the electricity market of electricity generated, and on the other hand incomes covering investment and operating costs at a certain degree, based on the activity that would be carried out by an efficient and well-managed company. Power plants that generate power from cogeneration or use as their primary energy source non-consumable and non-hydraulic renewable energy, biomass, biofuels or waste from agricultural or livestock exploitations, or services can be entitled to receive remuneration even when they have an installed power capacity exceeding 50 MW. RDL 9/2013 exceptionally allows standard installations to be defined specifically for the island and no-mainland electricity systems.

 

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