The Portuguese Government has opened two competitive procedures, in the form of electronic auctions, to award grid capacity access rights (títulos de reserva de capacidade — “TRCs”) for injection into the Public Electricity Grid (Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público — “RESP”) to electricity storage projects:
- Standalone storage facilities, with 750 MVA on offer; and
- Renewable power plants with co-located storage, with 300 MVA on offer.
The two procedures were approved by Orders No. 12924-B/2026 and No. 12924-C/2026 of 22 October. The tender documents have been available on the website of the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (“DGEG”), the Government body responsible for energy licensing, since 23 October.
The deadline for applications is 22 December 2026.
1. Background
The draft tender documents were open to public consultation from 29 June to 20 July 2026 (see our earlier publication here). The final versions keep the main features of the drafts but make the following changes:
(i) there is no longer a maximum capacity per bidder (previously 200 MVA for standalone storage and 100 MVA for co-located storage), while the minimum remains 50 MVA;
(ii) compensation to municipalities is now 2.5% of the award value per year, for five years (standalone storage) or ten years (co-located storage), instead of 2.5% of operating revenues;
(iii) the maximum grid congestion restrictions fall from 750 to 500 equivalent hours per year for standalone storage and from 1,100 to 750 for co-located storage;
(iv) the TRC will state the capacity for charging from the RESP, and not only the injection capacity;
(v) the provisional guarantee must be valid for at least 18 months (previously six), and the definitive guarantee must be provided within 15 business days (previously ten);
(vi) the definitive guarantee can only be called if the developer misses the deadline for the production licence or the operating licence for reasons attributable to it; and
(vii) successful bidders pay OMIP, which runs the auction platform, a fee of 0.75% of the award value, plus VAT.
2. The two auctions
The table below sets out the main differences between the two auctions:
|
|
Standalone storage |
Co-located storage |
|
Object |
TRCs for standalone storage facilities |
TRCs for renewable power plants with co-located storage |
|
Capacity on offer |
750 MVA |
300 MVA |
|
Minimum per bidder |
50 MVA |
50 MVA |
|
Maximum per bidder |
No limit |
No limit |
|
BESS size |
Power ≥ 100% of injection capacity, with a 4-hour duration |
Power ≥ 20% of injection capacity, with a 4-hour duration |
|
Charging from the RESP |
≤ 100% of injection capacity |
≤ 75% (Rio Maior and Abrantes) or ≤ 25% (Sines and Santo André) of injection capacity |
|
Grid constraints |
≤ 500 equivalent hours/year, combining injection and charging |
≤ 750 equivalent hours/year for charging |
|
Auction revenue split |
70% National Electricity System (Sistema Elétrico Nacional — “SEN”) / 30% municipalities |
30% SEN / 70% municipalities |
|
Compensation to municipalities |
2.5% of the award value per year, for 5 years |
2.5% of the award value per year, for 10 years |
|
Agrivoltaic uplift |
N/A |
+20% on the Effective Bid Price for solar projects that keep the land in agricultural use |
The TRC will now state the capacity for charging from the RESP alongside the injection capacity. The final documents drop the statement in the consultation drafts that there was no “autonomous, automatic or unconditional right” to charge from the grid. They do, however, set maximum charging limits:
(i) up to 100% of the injection capacity awarded, for standalone projects; and
(ii) up to 75% at Rio Maior and Abrantes and up to 25% at Sines and Santo André, for co-located projects.
Even so, one of the main criticisms raised in the public consultation still stands. Developers will not know at the outset how much charging capacity they can actually count on, as this will only be set at the licensing stage, after the grid operator and the global system manager have given their opinions. They will therefore have to prepare their applications, bid and pay the award value without knowing a key factor in the economics of their projects.
3. Locations and capacity per connection point
All connection points are on the 400 kV National Transmission Grid (Rede Nacional de Transporte — “RNT”). The figures for each location show the injection capacity available at that point, not the maximum that can be awarded there.
For standalone storage, eight of the ten substations (Abrantes, Falagueira, Palmela, Pegões, Divor, Alqueva, Ferreira do Alentejo and Tavira) have no connection assets available. The connection is shared with the other developers connected to the same substation, who must agree on its use and costs. The time taken to negotiate that agreement does not count towards the project deadlines, up to a maximum of 12 months.
The Abrantes and Vale Pereiro substations (standalone storage) and the Abrantes and Santo André substations (co-located storage) are still being designed or built. At these locations, the 30 months the grid operator has to make the connection available only start to run once the licences and public utility declarations for those substations have been issued, which means that connection may take four to five years.
The developer’s own deadlines, however, still run from the issue of the TRC. If the grid is not ready when the deadline for the operating licence expires, the licence may be issued up to 90 days after the connection becomes available and the deadline is treated as met.
4. The auction
Successful bidders are selected through an electronic auction run by the DGEG on a platform managed by OMIP, in three stages: qualification, bidding and award.
|
Aspect |
Detail |
|
Format |
Anonymous ascending clock auction, in successive 30-minute rounds. Bidding for capacity takes place in a single stage, followed by the submission of location preferences, bidding for locations where needed, and the allocation of capacity to each location. |
|
Price |
The first round starts at €0/MVA. The price is uniform: all successful bidders pay the closing price. |
|
Locations |
Each bidder may choose one or more locations and split its capacity between them. |
|
Who can bid |
Individuals or legal entities. One application per bidder, alone or as part of a consortium (with joint and several liability and a common representative). A successful consortium must set up a company before the TRC is issued. |
|
Platform |
Electronic platform managed by OMIP. A qualified electronic signature is required. |
|
Contracting authority |
The Portuguese State, acting through the DGEG. |
5. Guarantees
Both auctions require two guarantees in favour of the DGEG, which may take the form of a cash deposit, a bank guarantee or a surety bond.
- Provisional guarantee: €500,000 per application (€10,000/MVA × the 50 MVA minimum), valid for at least 18 months and renewable. The originals must be delivered to the DGEG within five business days after the application deadline. The guarantee is returned within five business days if no capacity is awarded or the applicant is excluded, or as soon as the definitive guarantee is provided.
- Definitive guarantee: €10,000/MVA of awarded capacity, to be provided within 15 business days of notification of the award. It is released once the project starts operating and can only be called if the developer misses the deadline for the production licence or the operating licence for reasons attributable to it.
6. Payments and revenues
In the auction, bidders compete on the price they are willing to pay for the TRC. The award value is a one-off amount (€/MVA × MVA awarded), payable in full within 15 business days of notification of the award.
Developers earn their revenue from the market, bilateral contracts and system and flexibility services. There are no guaranteed tariffs, premiums or contracts for difference.
|
Item |
Amount |
When due |
|
Award value |
Closing unit price (€/MVA) × MVA awarded |
Within 15 business days of notification of the award |
|
OMIP fee |
0.75% of the award value, plus VAT |
By a deadline set by the Jury |
|
Definitive guarantee |
€10,000/MVA, called only if the licensing deadlines are missed for reasons attributable to the developer |
Within 15 business days of notification. Held until operation starts |
|
Operating revenue |
Market participation, bilateral contracts and system and flexibility services |
Throughout operation |
|
Compensation to municipalities |
2.5% of the award value per year, for 5 years (standalone) or 10 years (co-located) |
By 31 May of the following year, from the start of operation |
7. Development milestones
The development deadlines run from the issue of the TRC and are the same in both auctions:
|
Milestone |
With AIA / AIncA |
Without AIA / AIncA |
|
Submission of the environmental impact assessment (avaliação de impacte ambiental — “AIA”) or environmental incidence assessment (avaliação de incidências ambientais — “AIncA”) |
9 months |
— |
|
Production licence |
24 months (18 in acceleration areas) |
18 months (12 in acceleration areas) |
|
Prior notification of construction works |
33 months |
27 months |
|
Operating licence |
48 months (42 in acceleration areas) |
42 months (36 in acceleration areas) |
|
Start of operation |
30 business days after the operating licence |
30 business days after the operating licence |
8. Deadlines
Applications must be submitted only through the Electronic Procedure Platform. The deadlines are counted in business days from 23 October, when the tender documents were published on the DGEG website:
|
Step |
Deadline |
Date |
|
Requests for clarification and lists of errors and omissions |
10 business days |
6 November |
|
Jury’s replies |
15 business days |
27 November |
|
Submission of applications |
15 business days |
22 December |
|
Delivery of the original provisional guarantee to the DGEG |
5 business days |
30 December |
Admitted applicants will be notified of the auction date at least five business days in advance.