Self-production in Morocco: what Law 82-21 and its decree mean for industrial sites

The texts now in force

Law 82-21 on electricity self-production was promulgated by Dahir No. 1-23-21 of 10 February 2023. Its Arabic text appeared in the Bulletin Officiel on 27 February 2023. Provisions that required implementing texts could only apply once those texts were published.

The main one is Decree No. 2.25.100 of 5 March 2026, adopted in Government Council on 23 October 2025. It was published in Bulletin Officiel No. 7489 on 9 March 2026. Under its Article 29, it entered into force three months later, on 9 June 2026. Two earlier decrees of 22 October 2024 cover smart meters and certificates of origin.

ANRE, the electricity regulator, has adopted the pricing decisions that sit alongside the decree. Three have applied since 1 March 2026: the tariff for surplus energy and updated tariffs for use of the transmission and medium-voltage distribution networks.

Who can self-produce

A self-producer is any natural or legal person, public or private, that produces electricity exclusively for its own consumption. It must own the installation or hold the right to dispose of it. Grid operators, ONEE, Masen and producers operating under the renewable energy law, Law 13-09, are excluded, with narrow exceptions.

Sites considering a lease or third-party ownership model should take advice on how the ownership condition applies to them. Every applicant also commits to reserve the output for its own needs and not to transfer any of it to another party.

Voltage levels and the three regimes

The law defines low voltage as up to 1 kV and medium voltage as 5.5 to 30 kV. High voltage runs from 30 to 150 kV, and very high voltage starts at 150 kV. The procedure depends on installed capacity and connection:

• Installations not connected to the national grid: declaration to the regional services of the energy ministry, which issue a receipt within one month of a complete file.
• Grid-connected installations below 11 kW on the low-voltage network: declaration to the distribution operator, with a receipt within 30 days. Works must be completed within 12 months.
• From 11 kW up to 5 MW, on the low- or medium-voltage network: a connection agreement from the distribution operator, issued within 30 days of a complete file. Works must be completed within two years.
• 5 MW and above, on the medium-, high- or very-high-voltage network: an authorisation from the energy ministry’s regional services, after a technical opinion from the grid operator. The decision is due within 30 days of a complete file.

These periods exclude the time needed to confirm hosting capacity and to complete a technical study. The grid operator carries out the study at the applicant’s cost, within three months of payment, extendable by 30 days. Applications from 11 kW upwards must include three years of consumption data, or a forecast for a new connection.

The decree provides for an electronic filing platform, to be opened by ministerial decision. Médias24 reported in June 2026 that it was not yet in service.

Hosting capacity comes first

Grid-connected renewable self-production is limited by the hosting capacity of the network. Grid operators reserve capacity in the order in which complete files are registered. Under the connection agreement regime, capacity is reserved provisionally once the study fee is paid, and firmly once the connection agreement is signed.

ANRE Decision No. 01/26 approved the hosting capacity of the national system for 2026 to 2030. For 2026 it is 3,886 MW, of which 1,088 MW wind and 2,798 MW solar, rising to 10,429 MW by 2030. This figure covers all renewable projects, including those under Law 13-09, and not self-production alone. Distribution networks account for 691 MW of solar capacity in 2026.

Exporting surplus

Article 12 of the law lets a self-producer sell surplus to the relevant grid operator, up to 20% of annual production. The ceiling may be revised at the self-producer’s request, under conditions to be set by regulation. Médias24 reported in June 2026 that the decree setting those conditions had not yet been adopted.

ANRE Decision No. 04/26 sets the surplus tariff for 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027:

• 18 centimes of a dirham (cDH) per kWh off-peak and 21 cDH/kWh at peak, excluding taxes, the system services charge and environmental attributes.
• The peak window is 17:00 to 22:00 from October to March and 18:00 to 23:00 from April to September, on GMT.
• The tariff applies to installations connected at medium, high or very high voltage. The decision sets no surplus tariff for low-voltage connections.
• The tariff in force when the agreement is signed applies for as long as the authorisation remains valid, revised in line with the average regulated supply tariff.
• Surplus is metered monthly and trued up each year against the 20% ceiling.

Where a self-producer supplies several sites over the grid, unpaid energy injected beyond the sites’ withdrawals in a month is carried forward to the next month. Any balance left in December is lost.

The grid operator may also curtail production within a threshold to be set by regulation, without compensation, and may suspend injection for grid security. Storage, which the law allows, still awaits its implementing text.

Grid access fees

Energy produced and consumed on the same site does not pay network use tariffs. ANRE’s tariff decisions exempt the share self-consumed on site from the transmission and distribution use tariffs and from the system services charge. Surplus sold to the transmission operator is also exempt.

Charges apply when the grid carries power from a production site to a consumption site elsewhere. The law opens this route to installations of 5 MW or more, under an access contract. From 1 March 2026, the rates are:

• Transmission network use tariff (TURT): 6.85 cDH/kWh, set by Decision No. 02/26.
• System services charge (TSS): 6.81 cDH/kWh on injected energy, set by the same decision.
• Medium-voltage distribution use tariff (TURD): 6.07 cDH/kWh, set by Decision No. 03/26, with the same system services charge.

Losses are also compensated in kind, and connection and reinforcement costs are borne by the project. Wheeling between different distribution networks awaits further ANRE rules. The law also provides for a separate contribution to system and distribution services, set by ANRE. How it will sit alongside the TSS is not yet clear.

What it means for industrial sites

For most plants, the value lies in self-consumption. Export is capped at a fifth of annual output and paid at a regulated rate. Low-voltage sites have no published surplus tariff at all, so they should size for their own load.

• File early. Capacity is allocated in order of registration, and distribution networks have 691 MW of solar hosting capacity for 2026 nationwide.
• Build the timeline around the technical study, which can take up to three months plus a 30-day extension, and the two-year construction window.
• Use measured load data. Applications from 11 kW upwards need three years of consumption history, and sizing to that history limits unpaid or curtailed energy.
• Model remote supply carefully. For a plant of 5 MW or more feeding a distant site, network charges and losses must be set against the expected savings.
• Check existing installations. The law gives operators of existing installations 18 months from its entry into force to apply for regularisation. How that period runs, given that the procedures only took effect in June 2026, should be confirmed with counsel.

An independent review can test a proposed configuration against these rules and the site’s measured load before an application is filed.