Electricity Generation Regimes

General Access Mode

The request is submitted on the DGEG's electronic platform. The applicant submits a request to reserve capacity on the Public Service Electricity Grid (RESP) to the DGEG, indicating a single value for the desired injection capacity, the substation of connection, the voltage level and the grid operator to which it intends to connect, failing which it will be rejected outright and automatically at the time of submission.

If there are no restrictions, the DGEG notifies the applicant to provide a guarantee within 5 days to reserve the capacity to be allocated, in the amount of €10,000.00 per MVA, for a minimum period of 30 months.

The request to reserve capacity is assessed and decided by the network operator, who may, if necessary, request clarifications from the Applicant and, in the end, notify the applicant and the licensing entity.

When the opinion is favorable, the Capacity Reservation Permit for injection into the RESP is issued within 10 days, with which the request for connection to the RESP is subsequently initiated.

The process of granting a Capacity Reservation Title in the general access mode complies with the provisions of Article 19 of Decree-Law 15/2022.

E-REDES, in its capacity as Distribution Network Operator, ensures compliance with the regulations by acting in a non-discretionary manner, analyzing requests according to the priority resulting from the order in which the requests are sent by the licensing entity, which in turn respects the registration of the respective order of entry on the electronic platform, and may be refused on the grounds of the following situations:

a) Non-payment of the service provision, under the terms established in the Commercial Relations Regulations, and within 10 days of notification to that effect by the competent RESP operator;

b) Non-payment of the contribution to the SEN under the terms of paragraph 13 of article 19 of Decree-Law 15/2022, within 10 days of notification to that effect by the competent RESP operator;

c) When there are no technical conditions that allow the connection to the grid to be implemented, or the security and reliability of the RESP may be affected.

Agreement Mode

The agreement modality is applied in cases where there is no reception capacity at the RESP, but the promoter assumes the financial costs resulting from the construction/reinforcement of the network, necessary for the reception of the energy produced. 

The maximum available capacity to be allocated in this modality is defined by the Government by 15 January of each year, divided by: 

• Production technology;
• RESP operator;
• Generation with total injection into the RESP and generation for self-consumption.

The promoter must submit the capacity allocation request until 15 March of each year to DGEG, and may not apply for the injection points at RESP integrated in the Competitive Procedure Modality. 

With the submission of the application, a deposit must be provided to DGEG. 

The implementation of agreements between agreement applicants and the DSO are conditional on the existence or creation of reception capacity at the RNT substations which feed the RND in the areas covered by these agreement requests. 

The preliminary assessment and prioritization of requests to enter into an agreement for the construction or reinforcement of the network is based on the following criteria:

a) Technical criteria for the security and reliability of the SEN, namely those relating to the use of infrastructures and the optimization of the operation and management of the SEN;

b) Sustainability criteria of a territorial and environmental nature, namely those relating to the efficiency and rationalization of infrastructure planning, through joint use by several interested parties, the obtaining of favourable prior information issued by the municipality, the existence of a favourable environmental impact statement (DIA) for the project of the power generation center or the UPAC or proof of the contractual title that legitimizes the use of the land necessary for the respective use;

c) Targets to which Portugal is obliged according to the applicable technology.

The process of awarding a Capacity Reservation Title in the form of an agreement complies with the provisions of Article 20 of Decree-Law 15/2022.

E-REDES, as the DSO, ensures compliance with the regulations by allocating capacity in strict compliance with the prioritized list informed by the DGEG, in compliance with the capacity information published under the RARI and adopting the same technical analysis criteria for the different capacity creation studies.

Competitive Procedure Modality

The Government determines that a Competitive Procedure must be carried out for the attribution of the Capacity Reserve Title, which is attributed by the RESP operator. 

This modality is intended for the attribution of the Capacity Reserve Title for electricity production from renewable energy, and may cover one or more production technologies and include storage facilities.

The announcement of the opening of the procedure is published in the Diário da República (Official State Gazette) and the pieces of the procedure are published on the DGEG website and, in the case of an electronic auction, also on the electronic stakeholder registration platform. 

The process of awarding the Capacity Reservation Title (TRC) in the form of a competitive procedure complies with Article 22 of Decree-Law 15/2022.

In this procedure, the DSO makes capacity available to the DGEG for the purpose of conducting the competitive procedure and it is up to the DGEG to decide whether to award the Capacity Reservation Title to competitors, depending on the outcome of the competitive procedure conducted by the DGEG.

Provision of Guarantees

To make the request for the Allocation of Capacity Reserve for injection at the RESP, it is necessary to previously provide a deposit, aimed at guaranteeing that the applicant obtains the prior control titles. 

Prior Control Title is understood to mean: 

• Production and exploration licence;
• Prior registration and certificate of operation;
• Prior Notice.

The value of the deposit depends on the Modality in which the process takes place: 

The deposit to be provided by the applicant may take the following forms: 

• Bank guarantee;
• Surety bond;
• Bank deposit, in an account held by the licensing entity, destined exclusively for this purpose.

After the guarantee has been given, the Capacity Reserve Title is issued.

After obtaining the Capacity Reserve Certificate for injection into the Public Service Electricity Network (RESP), the applicant simultaneously promotes the procedure for the award of a Generation Licence and the process of connecting the Electricity Generating Centre, the storage facility or the UPAC to the network, to be developed with the respective RESP operator.

The request for the Production Licence is made by the applicant to DGEG, within a maximum period of one year after the issuing of the Capacity Reserve Title when an Environmental Impact Assessment procedure is to be carried out or, if this procedure is not carried out, within a maximum period of 6 months.

Process for connecting to the RESP

To start the process of connecting to the RESP, the applicant must be in possession of the Capacity Reserve Certificate, issued by the DSO, and follow the steps indicated below. The request is submitted to the producer manager indicated in the capacity allocation communication.