RELEVANT DEADLINES
- General deadline for submission of request: 60 days from the entry into force of Decree-Law 100/2026, except for special deadlines.
- Grid operator opinion: 90 days for issuance of binding opinions.
- DGEG decision: 10 days from receipt of the grid operator's opinion, except for waiver decisions: 30 days.
SOME CONSIDERATIONS
The entry into force of Decree-Law 100/2026 requires a swift response from TRC holders and applicants with pending agreement requests. Several of the mechanisms provided for in the decree are subject to short and peremptory deadlines, non-compliance with which may result in the definitive loss of rights or the expiry of positions relating to agreements with the grid operator.
In particular, holders wishing to waive their TRC with full refund of the guarantee have only 30 days from the entry into force of the decree to submit the respective request — after that period, the refund is reduced to 80%.
Similarly, applicants with pending agreement requests who wish to benefit from capacity released through release must formalize the allocation request with DGEG within 60 days, under penalty of expiry of the pending agreement request.
For TRC holders under the agreement with the grid operator modality, the decree opens a broad range of restructuring options — from to change of interconnection point — which may justify a strategic reassessment of the project portfolio, particularly where there are licensing delays or changes in market conditions that make the original configuration less viable.
For those with pending agreement requests not yet subject to grid study, the release of capacity represents a potentially faster route of access to the RESP. However, particular attention must be paid to the 60-day deadline for requesting capacity allocation, as its expiry without a request determines the full expiry of the agreement request.
Grid operators, in turn, will see their obligations regarding the issuance of binding opinions and the submission of agreement proposals intensified, within a framework of strengthened coordination with DGEG.
It should also be noted that the decree allows the accumulation of requests in a single application, provided they are connected, in which case DGEG issues a single decision.
It is also important to bear in mind that the decree is not entirely self-executing: the procedural rules, forms and processing workflows will be defined by ministerial order of the government member responsible for the energy sector, which has not yet been published. Nevertheless, the substantive deadlines run from the entry into force of the decree-law, which requires holders to prepare documentation in advance and assess their options even before the publication of that ministerial order.
Finally, the limited duration of the decree — until 30 June 2027 — reinforces the urgency in decision-making, since the mechanisms provided therein were approved only for a transitional period and may no longer be available at a later stage.
