Article 7 of Decree-Law n. 21 of 20 February 2026 (the “Bill Decree”), by inserting Article 10-bis into Legislative Decree n. 190/2024 (the Consolidated Text on Renewable Energy Sources, so called “FER Decree”), has reshaped the rules governing access to grid capacity for installations based on renewable energy sources and energy storage systems. The reform — inspired by the European first ready, first served principle developed in the Commission’s Grids Package of December 2025 — aims to address the phenomenon of virtual network saturation, by freeing up capacity currently occupied by reservations associated with projects that have not yet obtained any authorisation or necessary title.
The Decree-Law is currently pending parliamentary conversion; accordingly, a full assessment of its scope requires awaiting both the outcome of the conversion process and any amendments that may be introduced, as well as the implementing measures to be adopted by ARERA (Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment).
Within this framework, however, an issue of considerable practical significance immediately arises, affecting a number of pending proceedings. Specifically, several renewable energy projects that have substantially completed the authorisation process are awaiting the issuance of the final, formal, authorisation measure, since the competent authority is itself awaiting Terna’s approval (so called “benestare”) of the grid connection solution. Terna, for its part, had in certain cases suspended the issuance of such approvals pending the new regulatory framework on grid connections, now introduced by the Bill Decree. Now that this framework has entered into force, the question arises as to whether Terna may further delay the issuance of its approval on the grounds that it must await the implementing measures ARERA is required to adopt within 180 days, or whether, where the relevant conditions are met, it is instead under an obligation to proceed regardless. It is submitted that, in the absence of relevant obstacles, the answer must be the latter. This conclusion is supported by the following considerations..
The transitional regime: the provisions of article 10-bis, paragraph 2.
Article 10-bis, paragraph 2, expressly governs the period between the entry into force of the Decree and the adoption of ARERA’s implementing measures. During this transitional phase, the provision does not introduce any moratorium or suspension of ongoing grid connection procedures. On the contrary, it provides that both distribution system operators and the transmission system operator may, with immediate effect, issue grid connection solutions even in excess of the maximum connectable capacity at the connection point. This is a provision of direct and immediate application which, far from freezing Terna’s (and distributors’) operations, expressly enables them to act with greater operational flexibility than under the pre-existing regulatory framework — precisely during the period pending the adoption of the detailed implementing rules by ARERA.
The lapse mechanism under article 10-bis, paragraph 3, applies upon full implementation.
The lapse mechanism introduced by Article 10-bis — whereby grid connection solutions relating to installations that have not yet been authorised and whose solutions have not yet been validated (by the TSO or DSO) cease to have effect — is explicitly linked by the provision to the entry into force of ARERA’s implementing measures, and not to the date on which the Decree itself entered into force. It follows that the reference to “unauthorised” projects must be construed as referring to the authorisation status of the project at the time of adoption of those measures, and not as a category operative from the outset, as some have feared. The provision establishes no selective criterion for the transitional period distinguishing proceedings to be continued from those to be suspended. The legislature’s silence on this point does not authorise a restrictive interpretation of Terna’s operational obligations; if anything, it requires that ongoing proceedings continue in the normal course.
The duty to proceed and the risk arising from inaction.
There is a further consideration: if the issuance of Terna’s approval were to be delayed pending ARERA’s implementing measures, and those measures were to be adopted before validation by Terna is completed, the very outcome the provision seeks to prevent would materialise — namely, the lapse of a grid connection solution relating to a project that has, in substance, already completed its authorisation process. In such a scenario, Terna’s delay — resulting from an erroneous interpretation of the applicable regulatory framework — would directly cause the harm suffered by the operator.
It must also be borne in mind that an operator in this position is exposed to a risk that does not arise from any failure on its part: it has accepted the Preliminary Grid Connection Offer (STMG), submitted its authorisation application in a timely manner, conducted the procedure through to the positive conclusion of the joint services conference, and is now awaiting only the final authorisation from the competent authority, which is itself pending Terna’s approval. The delay falls entirely outside the operator’s sphere of control.
The correct scope of the lapse mechanism.
The ratio legis of Article 10-bis is to address speculative behaviour in relation to grid capacity: the provision targets those who have reserved a grid connection without ever initiating or genuinely pursuing an authorisation process, thereby occupying capacity that other market participants could have used productively. This rationale is entirely inapplicable to a project that has already received a favourable assessment from all the authorities involved in the authorisation procedure. Extending the lapse mechanism to such projects — on the basis of an erroneous and decontextualised interpretation — would mean applying a punitive provision to parties who are in precisely the opposite position to the intended targets of the provision itself, in manifest deviation from the legislature’s stated purpose, and with deeply distortive systemic consequences for the development of renewable energy in Italy.
Conclusion.
In the absence of any legislative provision authorising the suspension of validation procedures pending the adoption of ARERA’s implementing measures, Terna is under an obligation to continue and conclude the ongoing approval proceedings in compliance with the applicable regulatory framework. The Bill Decree not only does not justify any delay; on the contrary, read systematically, it mandates continuation: inaction would transform the transitional period into a “trap” for the most advanced projects — precisely those which the reform is intended to protect and promote.
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This note was prepared by Avv. Massimo Colicchia. For further information or clarifications on the matters addressed in this article, please contact the author at
Todarello & Partners provides legal assistance on all issues relating to the matters addressed in this article. The firm’s lawyers possess extensive expertise in this field, regularly advising some of the leading operators active in the market and representing them before all competent jurisdictions.
