Electricity companies warn of the "risk of flight" from industry and data centers in the face of Ribera's refusal to stop investment in networks

The confirmation by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition that it has no intention of raising or, directly, eliminating the cap that limits investment in electricity networks to 0.19% of GDP has led companies in the sector to warn this Wednesday of the damage that this position can cause on economic development in Spain. The association that brings together companies in the sector, AELEC, estimates that currently data centers, industry and storage facilities are waiting for the Government to guarantee connection to the distribution network to be able to supply up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity, between 15 and 20% of national demand that has not been taken into account. Its president, Marina Serrano, warns that not allowing more investment “limits economic growth” and entails “a risk of flight” of investments to other European countries that, unlike in Spain, “not only do they not impose restrictions on investment , but they make efforts to configure a favorable framework”.

“From Europe they show us the path and we cannot waste this opportunity from Spain, since by not facing the development of distribution networks we harm the consumer by not allowing them to benefit from the reduction in future costs that the electrification of energy entails,” Serrano stated in a statement released by the AELEC.

This statement by the electricity companies comes two days after on Monday the Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen, stated that the Ministry led by Teresa Ribera does not have in mind raising the limit on investment in electrical networks, which For more than ten years, it has been established that it cannot exceed 0.13% of GDP in transportation networks – from the generator to the substation – and 0.065% in distribution networks – from the substation to the final consumer.. Together, they add up to around 2.6 billion euros.. “Raising the limit means increasing tolls for the consumer,” he said about a demand that the electricity sector has been making for a long time and to which the PP also joins, whose regional governments denounce that it is one more obstacle to being able to welcome in their territory new industrial projects and data centers because they are not guaranteed the electricity supply in large quantities that these activities require.

The AELEC emphasizes that “the lack of development of distribution networks prevents the industrial consumer from benefiting from the reduction in electricity costs” and rejects the Ecological Transition argument that raising the cap would make the bill more expensive via tolls.. “On the contrary,” says Serrano this Wednesday. “It's like highways, the more cars circulate, the lower the tolls will have to be,” he stated and recalled that Spain has European funds to promote more investments in networks “without having to increase the consumer's electricity bill.” “. According to Aagesen said on Monday, the Government has an allocation of 1 billion European funds.

Regarding the effects of not increasing the amount to expand electricity distribution networks – that is, those that take it from a substation to the final consumer -, the electricity sector observes that it can mean that industrial and data center projects that are being considered and settle in Spain go to other European countries “attracted by strong investment plans in networks”. Remember that countries like France and Germany are estimating “tripling” it until 2030 and that the recently approved reform of the electricity market provides for “anticipated investments”, more proactive about the future, instead of the “traditional approach” system that the Government would be applying.

“If the development projects for electrical distribution networks are not addressed right now, not only is this creating a risk in meeting climate objectives, but it is also limiting the economic growth of our country and losing the opportunity that offers decarbonization,” Serrano pointed out, about a situation that “entails a risk of flight of investments to other countries where obtaining access to the network is easier,” in addition to “weighing down an entire industrial value chain.” .

Specific and 'secret' modification of the network

Also regarding access to electricity distribution networks, the Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday a “punctual” and “urgent” update of the current planning, until 2027, to incorporate, with the right to financing, 73 actions that were not planned and that the Government considers that it is necessary to undertake. This figure represents nine more than the 64 initially planned in the draft presented by Ribera last December, which caused widespread complaints in the communities for having left out many others that they consider essential.. These nine additional ones contrast with the more than a hundred requests that the communities announced that they would submit during the subsequent public consultation process.. For example, the Community of Madrid announced that 80 projects had been left out in a draft that it criticized had only included one action in Algete that did not entail additional financing.

The agreement ratified by the Council of Ministers increases the net investment from 321 million to 489 million to finance the 73 actions, including the nine additional ones that do not translate in their entirety into new access to the electrical network to meet “new demands”. To this end, the 1 17 planned in the initial draft are maintained – among them, in areas of Algeciras and Huelva, related to the Andalusian Hydrogen Valley or in the Sagunto area, in relation to the Volkswagen electric battery factory – and They add another six, bringing them to a total of 23.

The urgent modification of the network planning also includes nine accesses – the seven in the draft and another five added later – for storage such as hydraulic pumping and renewable generation, in just transition nodes in four of them; three to cover operating demands – two planned plus one additional – and 38 to meet needs that arise in the execution of current planning, such as upgrades of lines and substations,

However, incomprehensibly it has not yet revealed the location of those nine actions.. Contrary to what is usual, the agreement of the Council of Ministers was not followed by information with the details of new accesses to the network that will be financed by 2026, which would be announced with its publication in the BOE. Also contrary to what is usually more common, a day later, the Official State Gazette still has not published the agreement of the Council of Ministers, without the autonomous governments knowing whether they have 'gained' any access to the electricity distribution network in their territories.