The new independent aggregator, in six keys: this is how the electricity market will change

According to information available from official sources (BOE, CNMC, MITECO) and the newspaper Demócrata until August 2026, the regulatory development of the independent aggregator in Spain is very advanced legally and regulatorily, but it does not currently translate into a specific and autonomous parliamentary process focused exclusively on this figure. Most of the regulation has been done via Royal Decree and adjustments to the Law 24/2013 of the Electricity Sector, complemented by CNMC resolutions.

1. Which regulation develops the independent aggregator

Demócrata identifies as the central piece the General Regulation on Supply and Contracting of Electric Energy, approved by Royal Decree, which:

• Derives from a draft submitted to public consultation in July–September 2024, which already included regulation of the independent aggregator as a new system agent (Demócrata analysis).
• Partially transposes Directive (EU) 2019/944 on common rules for the internal electricity market, recognizing the aggregator as an entity that combines multiple consumptions or generation to offer in the markets.
• Develops the mandate already included in Law 24/2013, where aggregation is defined but lacked an operational framework for independent aggregators to effectively act.

Later articles from Demócrata, such as the one dedicated to the 2026‑2030 strategy against energy poverty, explicitly refer to the “recent Royal Decree approving the General Regulation on supply, marketing and aggregation of electric energy,” indicating that by mid-2026, the regulation is already approved and in force, and explicitly integrates aggregation and the independent aggregator into the regulatory architecture.

Simultaneously, CNMC resolutions published in the BOE (for example, the Resolution of November 6, 2025 on operation procedures 7.5 and 14.4) adapt active demand response services and other technical mechanisms to the logic of aggregation, explicitly mentioning that sanctioning and liability issues must be addressed within the framework of the independent aggregator’s development.

2. Current parliamentary status

Based on the sources consulted, there is no record in 2026 of a bill or draft law under processing in the Congress or Senate exclusively focused on the figure of the independent aggregator. Its regulation is articulated through:

• Targeted reforms of the Electricity Sector Law, integrated into broader packages on operator supervision or system flexibility (for example, the package approved by the Government in June 2025 to strengthen supervision and flexibility tools, according to a MITECO press release).
• The aforementioned Royal Decree of the General Regulation on Supply and Contracting, which is a regulatory norm: it is approved by the Council of Ministers and published in the BOE, without legislative processing in the Cortes.
• CNMC regulations (circulars and resolutions) that develop demand participation and aggregation in balancing services, capacity, voltage control, etc.

Therefore, strictly speaking, the “parliamentary status” of the independent aggregator’s development is currently indirect: the figure is inserted in broader energy laws and reforms (some already approved, others ongoing), but there is no unique and identifiable parliamentary file dedicated solely to this figure.

3. Procedures following the public consultation

In the specific case of the General Regulation on Supply and Contracting, the process after the 2024 public consultation has followed the ordinary scheme for drafting regulations:

• Analysis of allegations submitted by companies, associations, consumers, Autonomous Communities, etc., and text revision by MITECO.
• Internal and interministerial reports and review by the Office of Coordination and Regulatory Quality.
• Opinion of the Council of State, which, as revealed by Demócrata, focused precisely on the shortcomings of the sanctioning regime, disqualification, and operational requirements for the independent aggregator, as well as its contributions to the social bonus and the National Energy Efficiency Fund.
• Approval by the Council of Ministers of the Royal Decree, with partial incorporation of the Council of State’s observations.
• Publication in the BOE and entry into force, with consequent technical adaptations via CNMC and system operators.

Only if the Government opts to strengthen the sanctioning and disqualification regime of the independent aggregator through a law (as suggested by the Council of State itself), the next step would be the approval of a bill by the Council of Ministers and its submission to the Congress, thus initiating a full parliamentary process (consideration, amendments, committee, report, Plenary, Senate passage, etc.). To date, this legal reinforcement is marked as necessary in opinions and sectoral debate, but it is not yet a specific legislative file in progress.

The Secretary of State for Energy is the senior body of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) responsible for designing and coordinating the Government of Spain's energy policy. According to the administrative organization chart and official sources consulted, the position is currently held by Joan Groizard Payeras, appointed Secretary of State for Energy by the Council of Ministers on November 28, 2024, according to the press release issued by MITECO (MITECO press release).

Who is the current Secretary of State for Energy

Information from the administrative positions database and the official MITECO note allow profiling the current officeholder:

• Name: Joan Groizard Payeras (Palma, 1989).
• Position: Secretary of State for Energy, head of the Secretary of State for Energy at MITECO.
• Appointment: designated by the Council of Ministers on 11/28/2024, replacing Sara Aagesen, who became Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
• Education: engineer in Energy and Environment from the University of Cambridge and master's degree in Corporate Social Responsibility Management.
• Previous career: has dedicated his career to energy transition and renewables. He was Director General of Energy and Climate Change of the Balearic Government, participated in the design of the regional Climate Change Law, and since 2018 held various positions at the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE), where he became Director General.
• Role in the PRTR: as IDAE director, he led the execution of numerous aid lines of the Recovery Plan and the launch of the PERTE for Renewable Energies, Renewable Hydrogen and Storage (PERTE EHRA), mobilizing more than 13 billion euros according to the ministry's official note.

Main competencies of the Secretary of State for Energy

The competencies of the Secretary of State for Energy are detailed in the MITECO's organic structure royal decree (currently Royal Decree 503/2024, of May 21, repeatedly cited in Official State Gazette resolutions, for example in the Resolution of July 11, 2025 of the Secretary of State for Energy). Based on that structure and administrative practice, its main functions can be grouped into several blocks:

• Energy policy design: promotes and coordinates the Government's policy on energy, in line with climate goals and the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). This includes planning the energy transition, integrating renewables, and decarbonizing the system.
• Electricity and gas markets: directs the basic regulation of electricity and natural gas markets, coordinating with other bodies such as the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) and the system operator. Tasks include proposing and developing rules on network access and connection, charges and tolls, and remuneration frameworks for regulated networks and generation.
• Supply security and network planning: participates in planning electricity transmission and distribution networks, as well as measures to strengthen supply security of gas and petroleum products. The July 11, 2025 resolution shows, for example, how the Secretary of State calls capacity access tenders at certain transport network nodes, applying Royal Decree 1183/2020 and its implementing regulations.
• Promotion of renewable energies and storage: coordinates policies for the deployment of renewables, self-consumption, energy communities, and energy storage technologies, as well as associated economic and regulatory support instruments (auctions, remuneration schemes, etc.).
• Energy efficiency and savings: under its scope, catalogs of efficiency measures, aid programs, and regulations to reduce energy consumption in sectors such as building, industry, or transport are developed and updated, in line with resolutions from the Directorate General of Energy Planning and Coordination referring to RD 503/2024.
• European and international energy relations: the Secretary of State is the Government's reference in European and multilateral energy policy forums, participates in negotiating and applying EU directives and regulations, and coordinates the transposition of that legislation into domestic law.
• Management of dependent bodies: exercises high-level management and oversight of key energy entities attached to MITECO, such as IDAE, and channels much of the execution of European funds linked to the energy transition.

Overall, the Secretary of State for Energy acts as the nerve center of Spanish energy policy: designing the regulatory framework, coordinating network and market planning, promoting renewables and efficiency, and representing Spain in major European and international energy debates, under the direct dependence of the Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

To operate as a marketer in the Spanish electricity market, a company must meet a set of requirements established mainly by the Law 24/2013, of December 26, of the Electricity Sector (text in BOE), the historic Royal Decree 1955/2000 (still partially in force), and, since 2026, by the new Royal Decree 88/2026, of February 11, which approves the General Regulation on supply, marketing and aggregation of electric energy, as detailed by specialized press and the newspaper Demócrata.

1. Access and activity exercise requirements

According to Law 24/2013, marketing is a liberalized activity, but its exercise requires a series of formal and material requirements:

• Incorporation as a commercial company with capacity to operate in Spain and corporate purpose including electric energy marketing (Law 24/2013, arts. 8 and 10).
• Administrative authorization to operate as a marketer, granted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), and registration in the corresponding administrative registry. The agreements for granting and revoking such authorization are published in the BOE, as seen in the case of Holaluz, whose authorization has been proposed to be revoked and whose customers would be transferred to a reference marketer.
• Registration and access to electricity markets (wholesale market, OMIE, and relationship with the system operator, Redeia/REE) as a “market participant,” a figure included both in Law 24/2013 and CNMC resolutions on operation procedures.
• Economic solvency and financial guarantees: sector regulations require marketers to provide guarantees to cover their payment obligations for tolls, charges and other system costs. Specialized press reports that the new supply regulation strengthens these guarantees, allowing the system operator to block the registration of new supply points if the company is not up to date with its obligations.
• Accounting and activity separation: Law 24/2013 imposes on system entities obligations of separate accounting between regulated and liberalized activities and vertical integration restrictions, to avoid conflicts of interest between distribution (natural monopoly) and marketing in free competition.

2. Obligations towards regulators (MITECO and CNMC)

Marketers are subject to intense information and supervision obligations:

• Law 24/2013 and Royal Decree 1955/2000 require them to submit economic and technical information to MITECO and the CNMC, including data on prices, contracts and costs, used to set tolls, charges and for system supervision.
• Order TED/456/2021 and successor regulations determine the content and conditions for sending price information to end consumers, to prepare statistics and report to Eurostat (BOE-A-2021-7844).
• They must collaborate with the Guarantees of Origin System of the CNMC (regulated by Circular 1/2018, among others), which is the only valid tool to certify and communicate to the customer the renewable origin of the supplied energy, as explained by the CNMC itself in its press releases.
• Royal Decree 88/2026 strengthens the sanctioning regime: the CNMC can initiate and resolve proceedings for non-compliance with information, transparency and consumer protection obligations, with fines that, according to Demócrata, can reach up to six million euros in the most serious cases.

3. Obligations towards consumers

Title VIII of Law 24/2013 and regulatory development (Royal Decree 216/2014 on PVPC, BOE-A-2014-3376; Royal Decree 897/2017 on vulnerable consumers and social bonus, BOE-A-2017-11505; and Royal Decree 88/2026) impose relevant obligations:

• Transparent information in contracts and invoices: minimum contract content, price breakdown, tolls and charges, CNMC offer comparator via QR code (according to resolution of June 24, 2021, BOE-A-2021-11035) and labels on energy origin.
• Clear billing: the May 23, 2014 MITECO resolution sets the electric bill model and its minimum content (BOE-A-2014-5655).
• Fair commercial practices: Royal Decree 88/2026 prohibits unsolicited commercial calls and requires prior, express and unequivocal consumer consent for any telephone contact or contracting, as the CNMC has reminded in various communications.
• Customer service and complaints: the new regulation requires offering at least a digital complaints channel, informing on their status and adhering to alternative dispute resolution systems (consumer arbitration, etc.), clearly informing in contracts, invoices and the entity's website to which they are affiliated.
• Protection of vulnerable consumers: reference marketers manage the PVPC and the social bonus, applying discounts and additional protections for vulnerable, severely vulnerable and socially excluded at-risk consumers, according to Royal Decree 897/2017 and Law 24/2013.

4. Other obligations and sanctioning regime

In addition to the above, marketers must:

• Contribute, via charges and specific mechanisms, to the financing of system costs (including the future capacity market and certain balancing services), as the Government develops this regulation.
• Respect supply continuity: if they lose authorization, the procedure provided in Law 24/2013 and the 2026 regulation allows the Ministry to transfer their customers to a reference marketer, ensuring no power cuts, as recent guides collected by Demócrata explain.
• Submit to the infringement and sanction regime of Law 24/2013, which classifies as serious and very serious, among other behaviors, non-compliance with supply, billing, quality discounts, information duties and market-distorting practices.

Overall, current legislation configures a framework where marketing activity is free, but strongly conditioned by requirements of solvency, transparency, consumer protection and reinforced supervision by MITECO and CNMC.