Now you can save on your electricity consumption, thanks to the new legislative measures that impact the energy system.

Thanks to the new legislative regulation on energy alternatives for self-consumption, approved in April this year, it is already possible to save considerably on the cost of our electricity billing, since they are no longer penalized with the so-called “sun tax”, being more easy to use solar panels in our home. 

If you are analyzing the possibility of generating your own energy, learning more about the new legislative regulations may interest you. We anticipate that Teresa Ribera, in charge of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, recently gave the news regarding the approval of the decree to regulate self-consumption and mentioned the most important measures that the Government is going to take to promote the national strategic plan. to combat energy poverty for the years 2022-2024, since both regulations are going to be applied jointly to obtain better results. 

The different options offered by this new regulation that makes profound changes at a technical, economic and administrative level regarding the installation of solar panels, significantly simplifying procedures and facilitating access to these forms of energy self-consumption, we are sure that it will produce a great impact on the electrical system.

Legislative background of the regulation of self-consumption sources.

Those who at some point wondered what solar panel to buy, often abandoned the idea due to the little benefit that this represented, all as a consequence of the taxes that its regulation implied.

Thus we see, since October 2015, self-consumption has been regulated in the country with the entry into force of the first decree in which consumers who generated their own electricity were forced to pay an additional tax if they used the electricity network. at a given time, which meant a veto if these small producers wanted to sell the surplus energy they had generated and did not use. This was what was called the “sun tax”.

But this legal system was appealed against before the Supreme Court, where it was validated after two years and denied the establishment of a sun tax. For the Supreme Court, renewable energy consumers only paid the same expenses as the majority of users, but measured by their particular profile.

Subsequently, in October 2018, the Government repealed this tax, suspending said payment for 6 months to try to reduce the high price of electricity, while expanding the social bonus granted to consumers considered vulnerable. Currently, the cabinet of the Executive is studying the continuation of these measures to maintain this system. 

Energy surplus and compensation.

The new decree seeks an integration for the electrical grid system where new consumers are included, while alternative sources of renewable energy are introduced in a more complex process, which facilitate management in compensatory systems, as well as the inclusion of domestic producers. so that they can sell excess energy to the grid on a smaller scale.

This mechanism is known as the net balance of consumption, according to which an average consumer who generates an excess of the electricity that he or she normally uses can later reduce his or her billing, because it would be connected to the conventional electrical system as a support.

This is how this new decree differentiates between individual installations, which are 100% renewable and produce less than 100 kWh of energy, from collective installations, which are subject to neighborhood communities and are interconnected through the same power cable. low voltage in an extension that does not exceed 500 meters.

At this point, it is appropriate to know that for these compensations to be possible and to appear on your electricity bill, the energy user must have a contract with a marketer such as Endesa, Iberdrola or Naturgy, etc., while the value will be determined for the price that exists in the market, after having deducted the expenses for the commercialization. On the other hand, if you have an agreement with a free marketer, the compensation will be agreed between both parties.

Another interesting aspect of the new regulations is that the discounts cannot be cumulative nor can they be compensated in subsequent periods, so they must be made on the corresponding month’s invoice. In addition, the installation of solar panels individually needs a meter that is bidirectional, and in case of being collective, they require a meter that distinguishes between net generation. But the caveat is that in small homes, where the power produced does not exceed 15kW, they do not have to obtain installation or access permits.

Strategy against Energy Poverty.

It is an instrument through which the parameters are outlined to reduce energy poverty in the country, where the first official definition of this type of poverty appears and the main objective is to obtain a reduction of 25%. by 2025, trying to reach 50%.

This official instrument divided the action framework into four axes and established 19 different measures with indicators to effectively monitor compliance. 

Among the measures taken in this strategic framework, it is worth mentioning the setting of lines to allocate an energy bond for the future, which will be paid automatically and will serve to cover all the expenses produced by the different energy supply alternatives.

In addition, some actions are proposed to rehabilitate the different energy sources of homes, the replacement of old appliances and equipment in exchange for more efficient appliances. 

Another important measure of this strategic plan is the prohibition of cutting off the energy service in extreme weather conditions to users considered vulnerable, added to the restrictions with cutting off the supply in homes where there are people under 16 years of age, people with disabilities or someone who is dependent. 

Likewise, the previous period for cutting off electricity supply due to non-payment was extended, although during those four months, the customer will only receive a minimum supply for their home.