Royal Decree 997/2025: urgent measures to reinforce the Spanish electricity system (14/11/2025)

The electricity crisis of 28 April 2025 highlighted the need to improve the security and responsiveness of the national electricity system. In this context, the Government approved Royal Decree 997/2025 of 5 November to establish urgent measures to ensure a reliable supply adapted to the energy transition.

The decree introduces three main new features:

• Enhanced supervision: the National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC, its Spanish acronym) must publish, within three months of its entry into force, a public report on compliance with voltage control obligations by system agents. In addition, within nine months, an extraordinary inspection plan for replacement capacities is envisaged, to be carried out on a regular basis.
• System operator: Red Eléctrica de España (REE) will have between three and six months to submit proposals for regulatory changes in the areas of oscillation damping, voltage variation speed, active power injection, adjustment services and incident monitoring.
• Storage and generation: the processing of hybrid storage facilities on existing facilities is simplified, exempting battery modules within previously assessed facilities from simplified environmental impact assessments. An updated definition of ‘installed capacity’ is also introduced and the deadlines for authorising standard projects within the framework of Royal Decree 1955/2000 are accelerated.

For developers and operators, the decree not only implies clear technical requirements within a defined timeframe, but also provides greater regulatory certainty and administrative agility. For manufacturers and consumers, it translates into greater ease of electrification, more agile processing of connections and self-consumption or storage projects, and a more stable electricity system that helps to avoid critical supply interruptions.

Royal Decree 997/2025 represents a step forward in Spanish electricity regulation, increasing technical supervision, promoting storage and hybrid generation, and reducing administrative barriers. Its implementation can provide greater security, efficiency and adaptability to the electricity system in the face of the demands of the energy transition.