The electricity grid releases more than one gigawatt of capacity due to renunciations of consumption facilities

No parliamentary or Executive information has been found about a "Royal Decree-Law 7/2026" in the sources consulted, so it is not possible to specify the exact status of its processing in the General Courts. This may be because the decree-law does not yet formally exist, has not been published in the BOE, or has not yet been registered in the Congress for its validation. There is also no data on its possible validation vote or on a possible agreement to process it as a bill. Below is an explanation of how its institutional path should be and which milestones to look at to check its exact situation when the information is available.

What is a Royal Decree-Law and what does its approval imply

The Royal Decree-Law is a regulation with the force of law approved by the Government in cases of extraordinary and urgent need. It is adopted by the Council of Ministers, without initially going through the ordinary legislative procedure of the Cortes. However, the Constitution requires that, once approved, it must be submitted to validation by the Congress of Deputies within a maximum period of 30 days from its promulgation.

Under normal conditions, the sequence is:

1) Approval by the Council of Ministers.
2) Publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE), where it is assigned a number and a date (for example, "Royal Decree-Law X/2026, of day/month").
3) Immediate referral to the Congress of Deputies, which must debate and vote on it (validation or repeal) in the Plenary.
4) Possible agreement by the Congress to process it as a bill by the urgent procedure, which opens a complete parliamentary process with amendments.

Key milestones in the processing in the Congress

To know the processing status of any specific decree-law (including a hypothetical Royal Decree-Law 7/2026), several parliamentary milestones must be checked:

1. Registration of entry in the Congress
After publication in the BOE, the decree-law is registered as a Government initiative. The registry shows it with its own file number and the mention that it is a "Royal Decree-Law" submitted for validation. If this registration does not exist, the parliamentary procedure has not yet started.

2. Debate and validation vote
In a Plenary session of the Congress, the total debate of the decree-law is held. The result of the vote can be:

– Validation: the decree-law remains in force as approved by the Government.
– Repeal: the Congress rejects it, and it ceases to be in force (except for the legal situations it may have generated).

The initiative's record includes the date of the Plenary, the result of the vote, and, if applicable, the details of the votes cast by the different groups.

Conversion into a bill by the urgent procedure

In that same debate, once the validation has been voted on, the Congress may decide whether the Royal Decree-Law is processed as a bill by the urgent procedure. This decision has two effects:

1) The immediate validity of the validated decree-law is maintained.
2) An accelerated legislative procedure is opened that allows parliamentary groups to submit amendments (including total amendments with alternative text and amendments to the articles), which are processed in Committee and, if applicable, in Plenary.

A new file will then appear in the registry as a "bill derived from Royal Decree-Law," indicating that it follows the urgent procedure. Its typical phases are:

– Phase of group amendments.
– Appointment of the Reporting Committee and preparation of a report.
– Opinion of the corresponding Committee.
– Debate and, if applicable, final vote in the Plenary of the Congress.
– Referral to the Senate, where there may be new amendments or vetoes.
– Final approval and publication as law in the BOE.

How to check the real status of "Royal Decree-Law 7/2026"

Since no specific information about a "Royal Decree-Law 7/2026" appears in the sources consulted, its exact phase cannot be indicated (whether it has already been approved by the Council of Ministers, published in the BOE, validated, repealed, or transformed into a bill). In a normal scenario, to verify it one would have to:

– Locate the text of the Royal Decree-Law itself in the BOE (publication date and specific number).
– Consult the initiative's record in the Congress of Deputies, where the date of the validation/repeal Plenary and the decision on its processing as a bill would appear.
– If applicable, also review the record of the possible derived bill and its latest milestones (amendments, reports, opinions, and votes).

No further information is available in the sources consulted, so, as of today, it is not possible to go beyond this general explanation about the processing that a Royal Decree-Law with that numbering would follow when it actually exists and is registered.

The Secretary of State for Energy is the senior body of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) responsible for the direction and execution of the Government's energy policy. Its basic powers are established in the organic structure royal decrees (especially Royal Decree 139/2020 and Royal Decree 403/2020, of February 25) and are complemented by sectoral energy regulations and delegation orders. Overall, it covers energy planning and regulation, the organization of electricity and gas markets, the promotion of renewable energies, energy efficiency, and a just transition. Below is a summary of its main material areas of action and its horizontal functions, as derived from the current regulatory framework.

1. Basic regulatory framework

The core of the organic definition of the Secretary of State for Energy is found in Royal Decree 403/2020, of February 25, which develops the basic organic structure of MITECO, and in Royal Decree 139/2020, of January 28, on the basic organic structure of ministerial departments (the latter subject to numerous subsequent modifications). Although the specific articles are not included in the sources consulted, these regulations distribute powers between the Secretary of State and the dependent general directorates.

The ministerial assignment and general fit within the Government architecture are updated with Royal Decree 829/2023, of November 20, which restructures ministerial departments, maintaining the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge as the department competent in energy (text).

In material terms, many of the policies executed by the Secretary of State for Energy are supported by Law 7/2021, of May 20, on climate change and energy transition, which sets long-term decarbonization and energy transition objectives (text).

Additionally, the head of MITECO delegates part of her powers to the Secretary of State for Energy through Order TED/533/2021, of May 20, on delegation of powers, modified by Order TED/346/2022, of April 20 and Order TED/386/2023, of April 18 (Order TED/533/2021, Order TED/346/2022, Order TED/386/2023), which strengthens its role in matters such as subsidies, contracting, or program management.

2. Major material areas of competence

2.1. Energy policy and planning

The structural regulations place the Secretary of State for Energy as responsible for the proposal and execution of the Government's energy policy, in line with the energy transition objectives of Law 7/2021. This translates into the preparation and monitoring of plans and strategies (for example, plans associated with the implementation of the economic regime for renewables regulated in Royal Decree 960/2020, of November 3, on the economic regime of renewable energies for electricity production facilities: text).

2.2. Electricity and gas markets

The Secretary of State for Energy plays a central role in the organization of regulated energy markets. Among other areas:

– The design of specific economic regimes for renewables (Royal Decree 960/2020).
– The approval or promotion of system operation procedures, as reflected in the Resolution of June 30, 2023, of the Secretary of State for Energy, which approves operation procedure 14.12 of the electrical system (text).
– The regulation of figures such as electro-intensive consumers, whose statute is set in Royal Decree 1106/2020, of December 15 (text), in whose development MITECO and functionally the Secretary of State for Energy intervene.

2.3. Electricity, renewables, and self-consumption

The Secretary of State for Energy has a direct role in the regulation of electricity generation and self-consumption. A clear example is Royal Decree 244/2019, of April 5, which regulates the administrative, technical, and economic conditions of electricity self-consumption (text). Subsequently, the Secretary of State has approved resolutions to adapt operation procedures and facilitate the deployment of self-consumption, such as the Resolution of December 11, 2019 (text).

2.4. Energy efficiency and savings certificates

In energy efficiency, the Secretary of State for Energy acts mainly through the Energy Savings Certificates system, created by Royal Decree 36/2023, of January 24 (text) and developed by Order TED/815/2023, of July 18 (text). From a competence perspective, this strengthens its role in defining savings obligations for obligated parties, validating efficiency projects, and coordinating with autonomous communities and the IDAE.

2.5. Hydrocarbons, gas, and electric vehicle charging

The Secretary of State for Energy also impacts the field of natural gas and other fuels. For example, the setting of methodologies for gas system charges and regulated remunerations is articulated through Royal Decree 1184/2020, of December 29 (text). Likewise, the provision of electric vehicle charging services is regulated in Royal Decree 184/2022, of March 8 (text), whose practical deployment is supported by the information to be submitted to MITECO provided in Order TED/445/2023, of April 28 (text).

3. Horizontal functions: regulation, coordination, and implementation

Beyond specific sectors, the Secretary of State for Energy exercises horizontal functions typical of a senior body:

– Normative elaboration and regulatory proposal in energy matters, as shown by urgent royal decree-laws on energy measures, for example Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of June 23 (text), or Royal Decree-Law 17/2022 on cogeneration and fuels measures (text).
– Planning and monitoring of energy transition objectives, in line with Law 7/2021 and the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, through regulations such as Order TED/423/2022 on PRTR funds (text).
– Management of aid and subsidies within the framework of the energy transition and just transition, coordinating with the Institute for a Just Transition regulated by Royal Decree 179/2021, of March 23 (text).
– International and European relations in energy matters, participating in the transposition and execution of Union Law, as reflected in development regulations and error corrections of Royal Decree-Law 5/2023 (text).

The full and literal list of powers contained in Royal Decree 403/2020 is not available in the sources consulted; however, the set of cited regulations shows that the Secretary of State for Energy is the governmental decision center in planning, regulation, and execution of Spanish energy policy, with a transversal role in electricity, gas, renewables, efficiency, and just transition.

There is no single legal label of “high priority installation” for the transmission network in state regulations, but de facto those actions included in the binding planning of the transmission network approved by the Government and, if applicable, the “exceptional actions” incorporated for urgent reasons are considered as such. The criteria are distributed among the Electricity Sector Law, the orders that initiate and approve the planning, and the access and connection regulation. From these texts, the requirements can be grouped into four main blocks: supply security and network meshing, renewable integration, socioeconomic/territorial criteria, and specific technical criteria (congestions, evacuation capacity, etc.).

General planning framework and binding nature

Article 4 of Law 24/2013, of the Electricity Sector, assigns the Government the planning of the transmission network with a binding character for the installations of said network, in order to guarantee supply security and proper system coordination (Law 24/2013). The wording of this law is also based on a strong penetration of renewables and the need for large investments in transmission, which conditions the prioritization of actions.

The main recent specification is the “Energy Planning. Development Plan of the Electric Energy Transmission Network 2015‑2020”, approved by Agreement of the Council of Ministers and published by Order IET/2209/2015. This document sets the projects of new lines and reinforcements considered necessary; its inclusion in the plan is, in practice, the key criterion for an installation to be treated as a priority.

(a) Supply security and network meshing

The 2015‑2020 plan details that, in the peninsular system, the development of 400 kV and 220 kV networks is prioritized “to increase supply security and guarantee and support distribution networks,” as well as interconnections and reinforcements that avoid saturations (Order IET/2209/2015). In non-peninsular systems (Balearic and Canary Islands), interconnections between systems and reinforcements of 66, 132, and 220 kV are emphasized “to guarantee supply security.”

Added to this approach are the exceptional actions provided for in article 15 of Royal Decree 1955/2000, developed by Order ITC/81/2009. This order states that installations not foreseen in the cycle may be included when, “due to their urgency to guarantee supply security,” they must be immediately incorporated into the planning. That is, infrastructure that resolves a critical supply risk can be elevated to maximum priority even if it was not initially in the plan.

(b) Renewable integration and energy transition

The 2015‑2020 plan itself indicates that one of the main lines is the “development of 400 kV and 220 kV networks that facilitate the integration of generation and, in particular, renewable generation” (Order IET/2209/2015). Additionally, the sectoral planning document foresees renewable generation reaching 36.7% in 2020, which justifies reinforcements and new evacuation infrastructures as priority actions.

In the access and connection phase, Royal Decree 1183/2020 includes among its objectives “preparing the regulatory framework for the orderly deployment of renewable energies” and even allows capacity auctions at new transmission network nodes or at nodes where “capacity is released or emerges.” The enabling of these nodes and their reinforcements is conceived as a direct instrument of the energy transition, so the associated installations acquire, in practice, a high priority status.

(c) Socioeconomic and territorial development criteria

The energy planning document linked to Order IET/2209/2015 integrates criteria of economic development and territorial structuring, although not as a closed list. Among them:

– The feeding of new High-Speed rail axes from the 400 and 220 kV transmission network, which prioritizes substations and lines linked to large collective transport infrastructures.
– The reduction of generation costs in non-peninsular systems through interconnections and reinforcements, which has a clear socioeconomic component (system cost reduction and local competitiveness improvement).
– The improvement of support to distribution networks in areas with strong demand growth, to guarantee service quality in expanding territories.

(d) Specific technical criteria

Order ITC/734/2010, which initiates the procedure to propose network developments, expressly refers to Operation Procedure 13.1 “Criteria for transmission network development”, 13.3 (design criteria and minimum installation requirements), and 12.1 (requests for access to the transmission network). Although these O.P.s are approved by technical resolutions and do not detail all their contents in the BOE, it is indicated that projects must comply with these homogeneous criteria, which include:

– Analysis of evacuation capacity of generation and demand at each node.
– Evaluation of congestions and saturations in existing lines and substations.
– Minimum design, equipment, and meshing requirements to guarantee system stability.

Royal Decree 1183/2020 reinforces this approach by requiring that access and connection criteria, including capacity limits per node, be oriented to supply security and coherence with planning. Thus, installations that significantly increase useful capacity at critical nodes or resolve bottlenecks tend to be prioritized.

Practical conclusion

In summary, a transmission installation (new or reinforcement) is treated as high priority when: it is included in the binding planning approved by the Government; it responds to urgent reasons for supply security that justify its incorporation as an exceptional action; it is necessary for the evacuation of renewables at key nodes; or it solves significant congestions impacting supply quality or major socioeconomic projects (such as High-Speed rail or cost reduction in insular systems). No further information is available in the sources consulted that defines a formal unique category of “high priority,” but the above criteria operate in combination in regulatory practice.