Today, ACER releases its Opinion on Spain’s National Resource Adequacy Assessment (NRAA). This national assessment complements the European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA) 2024, reflecting recent developments in the country’s electricity system, including the integration of the Balearic Islands and Ceuta.
What is a resource adequacy assessment?
The European Resource Adequacy Assessment (ERAA) evaluates electricity resource adequacy across the EU and provides a consistent framework to assess whether additional national measures are needed to ensure security of supply. ERAA is carried out annually by the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) and reviewed by ACER.
Member States can complement the European analysis through national assessments (NRAAs), which may capture new developments or national specificities not yet reflected in the latest ERAA.
When a national assessment identifies new adequacy concerns, and the Member State informs ACER, ACER issues an Opinion on the differences with the ERAA.
What did ACER find?
Overall, ACER finds the Spanish assessment clear, robust and well executed and notes that most differences with the ERAA 2024 are justified by national specificities and local factors.
Spain’s assessment shows higher electricity adequacy concerns for 2030 compared with the ERAA. These higher projected risks are linked to two differences identified by ACER between the Spanish NRAA and the ERAA 2024:
- Lower storage capacity: Only storage projects already planned or under development are considered in the NRAA. As a result, Spain would have around half the storage capacity estimated in the ERAA for 2030, limiting the system’s ability to balance variable renewable generation and meet peak demand.
- Stricter gas generation assumptions: Spain’s assessment applies lower generation availability for gas turbine fleet based on historical data, including fixed maintenance schedules. This reduces the generation capacity expected to be available during periods of high demand.
ACER notes that while the assumptions of lower storage capacity and fixed gas turbine maintenance are insufficiently motivated, as they could better reflect the expected evolution of the electricity system, their impact on the overall results of the NRAA is limited.
What are the next steps?
ACER encourages the Spanish authorities to take its findings into account as the assessment process progresses.
