This is an inspection and check of the regulatory conditions and technical features of a customer's installation before connecting to the main.

It is the process of connecting to power company installations and providing an electricity service.

Service connection fees refer to the financial consideration that must be paid to the distribution company for carrying out the actions that are required to provide a new power supply, or to extend an existing one.

Service connection fees can include the following items:

• Extension fees, which refer to the financial consideration to be paid to the distribution company by each user applying for a new power supply or for the extension of an existing one for the electrical infrastructure needed between the existing distribution grid and the first element owned by the applicant. For this purpose, an applicant means an individual or body corporate that applies for extension installations for the service connection, without necessarily having to contract the new supply or its extension.
• Access fees, which refer to the financial consideration to be paid by each user signing up for a new power supply or power extension for an existing one, which are paid for being connected to the grid.
• Charges for the supervision of assigned installations, which refer to the fees to be paid to the distribution company by the users applying for the new supply or for the extension of an existing one for the supervision of the work and tests and trials performed prior to service start-up, who opt for direct execution and subsequent transfer of the installations.

Distributors can charge for meeting the following service requirements:

• The connection: the operation of electrically connecting the receiver installation to the distribution company's network, which is liable for the carrying out of this operation.
• Verification of the installations: the inspection and checking that they meet the regulatory technical and safety conditions.

For those supplies in which the submission of an authorised electrician's report is required, either because it is a new installation or because some alteration work has been done, inspection charges will not be collected.

Neither will inspection charges apply if the submission of a project and the works' completion certificate have been required to execute an installation

Extension installations are those that are needed to provide a new supply or to extend an existing one from the existing installations.

Extension fees are paid by the applicants when they already know how much this item costs, before the service connection is made. Extension installations are those that are needed to provide a new supply or to extend an existing one from the existing installations.

Connection fees already paid are attached to the installations, houses, premises, plots, etc. for which they were paid, until the first user cancels them, however much time may have elapsed.

From a customer's cancellation date, the connection fees will remain attached to the installation for a further three years for low voltage power supplies.

On signing up for the supply for a home, premises, etc., the customer or end user will have to pay the corresponding access fees for the subscribed power to the distribution company, as long as it does not exceed the power recognised for the installation. If the customer or end user were to sign up for more power or extend the already subscribed power, he or she would also pay the required extra for the access and extension fees corresponding to the increase in power.

The installations of the new grid extension required to provide new supply or to extend existing supply of up to 100 kW of low voltage and 250 kW of high voltage, on developed land provided with the installations and services required by land development legislation prior to need for electrical power supply, defined according to Article 12.3 of the Spanish Legislative Royal Decree 2/2008 of 20th of June, by which the Revised Text is approved for the Land Law, shall be carried out by the distribution company of the area, giving rise to the application of the corresponding rights of extension, if and when these are not included within the corresponding investment plan. The modifications that arise as a result of the increases in power requested in a period under three years shall be considered cumulative as regards calculation of power and, in this event, shall be paid for by the applicant, taking into account the payments made for service connection rights during that period. The cost of the rest of the new extension installations required to meet the requests for new supply or extension of existing supply shall be paid for by the applicants, without requiring payment for the extension rights.

The maximum deadlines for a written response, counted in working days, for low voltage supply are as follows:

• When a transformer station is not required, 20 days.
• Definitive service with a medium voltage transformer station, 60 days.
• Definitive service with a medium to high voltage transformer station, 90 days.

Three months from the date of communication of the quote.

Depending on the type of works to be carried out they can be:

• Municipal permit for prospecting pits and conduits.
• Municipal permit for transformer station works.
• Third-party permits for building the designed installation.
• Approval from the supply company of the extension installation project to be carried out, as it must meet its officially approved regulations.

The deadlines, counted in terms of 10 workdays from the time of connection of the installation, once the service connection fees have been paid for low voltage power supply, are as follows:

• If a low voltage extension is not carried out: 10 days.
• If only a low voltage extension is required: 50 days.
• Third-party permits for building the designed installation.
• If a transformer station needs to be built: 90 days.
• If several transformer stations need to be built: 130 days.

It must be taken into account that these deadlines are automatically interrupted if difficulties arise, such as lack of permits, installation anomalies, work licences, etc., until these become available.