Railway operators Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo are positioned to adopt self-consumption measures to cut electricity bills, in line with updates to the network manager Adif’s infrastructure announcements. Until recently, Adif handled the contracting and resale of electrical power to the rail sector; after this shift, companies will gain autonomy to install solar panels or pursue other self-supply options to lower their energy costs.
Railway companies remain among the largest electricity consumers, given the ongoing need for electrical current to power trains. Last year, Renfe faced a substantial spike in its energy bill, driven by higher electricity prices tied to the conflict in Ukraine, with recorded costs rising by 133 million euros beyond prior projections.
The national railway network is organized into sections, each served by a transformer center that connects to the wider electrical grid and provides traction power. The reform proposed by Adif envisions railway operators, including Renfe, Ouigo and Iryo, generating energy for their own use by locating production facilities near substations operated by Adif, thus enabling self-consumption at scale.
The process mirrors the approach used by residential solar users: roughly half of the energy drawn from a substation, equal to the installed base feeding the facility, is treated as self-consumed. Any surplus energy must be managed by the railway company itself. There may be scenarios with multiple connected production facilities sharing a single substation or collaborations among several railroad companies within the same electrical hub. In such cases, the participation percentages of each installation within the substation are used to determine how much consumption is attributed to self-supply.
On billing, Adif’s model typically results in reduced charges, with the regulation governing how energy used by companies is accounted for in the network’s declaration. Companies that opt for self-consumption will see their bills credited for the portion of energy produced and used on-site. The energy consumed by a railway operator cannot exceed the total energy demanded by that operator’s trains on any given network (high-speed, conventional or other lines). If generation exceeds needs, the resulting balance is adjusted to maintain overall network economics, decreasing costs across railways.
The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) reviewed Adif’s proposal and called it favorable for railway operators. It highlights enhanced control and a stronger ability to manage traction energy costs while also providing mechanisms to keep self-consumption neutral for operators that continue to buy power through the infrastructure manager. CNMC advises that Adif should disclose substation locations clearly and transparently, enabling investment decisions in nearby renewable energy installations. It also encourages the listing of unused land around substations that Adif owns to support future projects, while protecting non-discriminatory access to these resources [Source: Adif].