The roles defined by Real Decreto 36/2023
The Spanish system of certificados de ahorro energético (CAE) rests on strictly separate roles. They are defined in article 2 of Real Decreto 36/2023 of 24 January 2023, in its consolidated version published in the BOE. Our guide to Spanish CAE presents the scheme as a whole. This guide details who does what.
A CAE is an electronic document that recognises an annual final energy saving, resulting from an energy efficiency actuación. Each CAE is worth one kilowatt-hour, with no decimals, and it is indivisible.
| Role | Who can hold it | Main function |
|---|---|---|
| Sujeto obligado | Gas and electricity retailers, wholesale operators of petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gases | Bears the annual energy savings obligation |
| Sujeto delegado | Public or private legal entity, accredited by the Coordinador Nacional | Obtains and settles CAE on behalf of a sujeto obligado |
| Propietario del ahorro | Natural or legal person who finances the actuación, or to whom the saving was assigned | Assigns the saving through a convenio CAE |
| Verificador de ahorro energético | Entity accredited by ENAC | Verifies the saving and the completeness of the file |
| Gestor Autonómico | Body designated by each autonomous community, Ceuta or Melilla | Validates the file, issues the CAE and pre-registers it |
| Coordinador Nacional | Dirección General de Política Energética y Minas of MITECO | Accredits delegates, keeps the register, settles CAE |
Only sujetos obligados and sujetos delegados can hold a CAE, buy it or settle it. The propietario del ahorro never holds one: it assigns the saving in return for consideration.
The sujeto obligado: the party that bears the obligation
The sujeto obligado is designated by reference to article 69 of Ley 18/2014. These are companies that retail gas and electricity, wholesale operators of petroleum products and wholesale operators of liquefied petroleum gases.
Each year, a ministerial order sets its energy savings obligation. It meets it through a contribution to the Fondo Nacional de Eficiencia Energética, of which a minimum share is mandatory, and through the voluntary settlement of CAE. Our article on the 2027 SNOEE savings target details this mechanism.
The Real Decreto reminds us that CAE are settled by 31 December of each year at the latest. The sujeto obligado can settle itself or go through a sujeto delegado.
The sujeto delegado: a delegate, not a debtor
The sujeto delegado is a legal entity that takes on, wholly or in part, the obtaining of savings for one or more sujetos obligados. It acts under a contrato de delegación, a private-law contract signed with each sujeto obligado.
The obligation does not transfer. Article 9 of Real Decreto 36/2023 is explicit: the delegate takes on neither the annual obligation of the sujeto obligado nor its status. If the delegate fails to honour its settlement commitments, or is dissolved, each sujeto obligado that delegated to it must meet its own obligation. The sharing of risk between the two parties is settled solely in the contrato de delegación.
The contrato de delegación is regulated. It must contain a clause stating that the obligation remains with the sujeto obligado. For a multi-year contract, it specifies the quantities delegated for each year. Within fifteen days, the delegate notifies the Coordinador Nacional of the parties, the term and the quantities delegated, then of any amendment or termination.
The delegate cannot sub-delegate. It cannot transfer its settlement commitment to a third party, even in part. Nor can it discharge its commitments by a payment to the national fund: only the settlement of CAE is accepted.
It can take part in auctions. The Real Decreto provides for an auction mechanism for energy savings needs, reserved for sujetos delegados. The needs awarded cannot be assigned to a third party.
Accreditation conditions for the sujeto delegado
Orden TED/815/2023 of 18 July 2023 specifies the conditions set by the Real Decreto. They are cumulative and are assessed at the time of the application, then throughout the accreditation period.
| Condition | Requirement of Orden TED/815/2023 |
|---|---|
| Legal capacity | Own legal personality, commercial corporate purpose, Spanish nationality, nationality of another Member State or a permanent establishment in Spain |
| Technical capacity | Six graduate professionals (engineers, architects or equivalent) who are energy auditors within the meaning of Real Decreto 56/2016 or certified; two graduate professionals in economics, management or law |
| Team experience | Three of the six technicians and one of the two other profiles show at least three years of experience in energy efficiency |
| Quality | ISO 9001 management system certified by an accredited body, covering the sujeto delegado activity |
| Solvency | Equity above 500 000 euros, tax and social security obligations up to date, no insolvency proceedings |
| Insurance | Civil liability of at least 1 000 000 euros with three years of experience, 2 000 000 euros otherwise |
Staff must be employees of the company: the Orden rules out external personnel or other contract formulas. A company that shows at least three years of experience as a delegate in another Member State can present a team of eight graduates, four of whom have three years of experience in a certified savings system.
Insurance sets the capacity. Cover must reach at least 10 % of the value of the commitments undertaken for a company with more than three years of experience, and 20 % otherwise. The amount covered determines the maximum commitment capacity the delegate can take on. It cannot commit beyond its available capacity.
The procedure. The Coordinador Nacional decides and notifies within two months. If there is no reply within that period, the application is deemed accepted. The accreditation is valid throughout the national territory, and the delegate then appears on a public list.
Maintaining accreditation. Any change in the documents provided must be declared within ten days. A delegate that loses its status has two months to regularise. Failing that, its CAE must be transferred to the sujetos obligados with which it has a contract, or sold, within one month.
The verificador, the Gestor Autonómico and the Coordinador Nacional
The verificador de ahorro energético checks the saving before any issuance request. It is accredited by ENAC, with a separate accreditation for standardised actuaciones and for singular actuaciones. The sujeto obligado or delegado chooses it freely among the entities accredited for the type of actuación concerned. The verificador chosen must not have taken part, directly or indirectly, in the actuación.
Independence is absolute. Article 12 of Orden TED/815/2023 prohibits accrediting as a verificador a legal entity that is a sujeto obligado or sujeto delegado, or that has been one in the previous three years. A verificador that acquires either status automatically loses its accreditation. The party that verifies the saving cannot be the one that profits from it.
The Gestor Autonómico is the body designated by each autonomous community, or by Ceuta and Melilla. It validates the file for actuaciones carried out in its territory, issues the CAE and pre-registers it in the national register. The MITECO page on CAE system agents gives the body and dedicated address of each region.
The Coordinador Nacional ensures the system runs at national level. The Real Decreto entrusts this role to the Dirección General de Política Energética y Minas of MITECO. It accredits sujetos delegados, keeps the national register and settles CAE.
An electronic platform links these players to request, buy, verify, issue and settle CAE. Since Real Decreto-ley 7/2026 of 20 March 2026, the Coordinador Nacional can entrust its operation to an operator. The Real Decreto designates OMIE and MIBGAS on a transitional basis for this task.
What this means for you
For an industrial company or a project owner
You are generally the propietario del ahorro. You assign it through a convenio CAE to a sujeto obligado or a sujeto delegado, in return for consideration. Checking that your counterparty appears on the public list of sujetos delegados is a simple and useful precaution.
For a sujeto obligado
Delegating does not release you from your obligation. The soundness of the chosen delegate, its accreditation, its available capacity and the clauses of the contrato de delegación directly determine your compliance.
For a company considering accreditation
The conditions of Orden TED/815/2023 assume an established structure: a qualified salaried team, quality certification, equity and insurance. The delegate activity is also incompatible with that of verificador. The draft reform of Real Decreto 36/2023 also provides for new reporting obligations for delegates.
What we recommend
Map the roles before signing. In each project, identify who is the propietario del ahorro, who will hold the CAE and who will take charge of settling it. The contracts follow from this.
Check accreditations. The list of sujetos delegados is public, and so is that of verificadores. A check upfront avoids a file blocked at the issuance stage.
Follow the consolidated texts. Real Decreto 36/2023 was already amended in 2026, and a broader reform is in preparation. We read each file against the version in force on the date of the facts.
Our engineering firm supports project owners and industrial companies in realising the value of their energy savings, in France as in Spain. See the markets we analyse or write to us to review a project.
