For the application of this regulation, the terms mentioned shall have the following meaning:
. Subscriber (Abonado): individual or legal entity that has signed one or more contracts for the use of electric energy.
. Energy Storage: Any technology (electrochemical, thermal, mechanical, electrical) that allows storing energy in the end user’s facilities, including electric boilers with hot water tanks.
. Economic Agent (Agente económico): In the market, any individual, de facto or de jure entity, public or private, participating in any form of economic activity, as a buyer, seller, offeror, or demander of goods or services, on their own behalf or on behalf of a third party, whether imported or national, or whether produced or provided by them or by a third party.
. Aggregator (Agregador): Individual or legal entity that integrates, coordinates, and manages a set of own, shared-use, or third-party Distributed Energy Resources, with the aim of optimizing the operation and use of these resources to improve the efficiency of their energy consumption and the reliability of the electrical system, enabling the procurement of benefits for the PDERs it manages, including the ability to provide services to the operator of the SEN system, the electric company of the subscriber, and for the National Electric System. The DER Aggregator must inform its operation to the electric distribution company providing public electricity service at the site where the services of the PDER clients are located; for this, they must report, at the time of commencement of operation, on a one-time basis, the location and the identification number of the electricity service of the clients to be served, and keep the entry or exit information of the PDER clients they manage updated annually.
The electric distribution companies must inform ARESEP about the operation of DER Aggregators, within the month following the date on which they become aware of their operation, detailing the location and the clients managed by them. This communication must be sent to the DER Aggregator and will be sufficient to have the DER Aggregators as established before that authority. Compliance with the technical requirements for the operation and safety of the electrical works and related services, including design, inspection, construction, and operation, shall be accredited by the presentation of duly approved plans and documents made by the responsible professional or professionals in charge at the CFIA, in accordance with the Regulation for the Processing of Plan Review for Construction No. 36550-MP-MIVAH-S-MEIC of April 28, 2011, or the regulations that succeed it. The electric distribution companies must not request from ARESEP or the DER Aggregators additional requirements or processes for their operation under this modality. Furthermore, with the aim of maintaining a registry of energy resources, the aggregator must report, at the time of its registration, the generation and storage capacity of the DERs it manages, in applicable cases. Likewise, it must provide the information requested by ARESEP and the electric distribution company regarding its electricity generation for self-consumption.
(As amended, the previous aggregator definition by article 14 of the Regulation to article 16 bis of the Law of the Free Trade Zone Regime No. 7210 regarding distributed energy resources by companies covered by the free trade zone regime and administrative companies of free trade zone parks located outside the Greater Metropolitan Area, approved by executive decree No. 45294 of October 10, 2025) . Self-Consumption (Autoconsumo): is the use of energy generated by the PDER to supply only its own demand at the same site where it is produced.
. Electrochemical Batteries (Baterías Electroquímicas): Device for storing electrical energy through electrostatic interactions (electrolytic double-layer capacitors) or through electromagnetic fields (magnetic superconductors).
. Electric/Magnetic Batteries (Baterías Eléctricas/Magnética): storage of electrical energy through electrostatic interactions (electrolytic double-layer capacitors) or through electromagnetic fields (magnetic superconductors).
. Mobile Loads (Cargas Móviles): are electrical energy storage systems with the capacity to be relocated and interconnected at different points on the grid.
. DER Penetration Capacity per Circuit (Capacidad de penetración de DER por circuito): maximum capacity of each electrical circuit of the SEN to accept DERs without them affecting its operation, in accordance with the applicable regulations issued by ARESEP to this effect.
. Recharging Centers for EVs (Centros de recarga para VE): Station for supplying or commercializing electrical energy for recharging electric vehicle batteries. It includes the parking space where users can recharge their electric vehicles and at least one connector for electrical energy recharging.
. CHAdeMO: Charge de Move, System for recharging electric vehicles according to standard INTE/IEC 61851-23:2017 or its current version.
. CCS1 Combo 1: Combined Charging System for recharging electric vehicles according to standard INTE/IEC 61851-23:2017 or its current version.
. Hydrogen Fuel Cells (Celdas de combustible de hidrógeno): assembly of a self-contained fuel cell used for stationary electricity generation at a specific location, according to standard INTE/ISO 14687:2020 or its current version.
. Interconnection Contract (Contrato de interconexión): is the accessory legal instrument signed between the electric company and the PDER, establishing the general and specific conditions under which a DER will interact with the distribution network and its effect on the SEN at the common interconnection point, the commercial and regulatory conditions for access and sale of surplus (excedentes) (including payment of the respective fee). The termination of the interconnection contract or its breach does not affect the validity and enforceability of the electricity supply contract or vice versa; approved by ARESEP.
. Energy Supply Contract (Contrato de suministro de energía): is the principal contract signed between the electric company and the subscriber for the supply of electricity, establishing the conditions, technical and commercial requirements under which the electric service will be provided, as well as the obligations, rights, duties, and penalties to which the parties commit, in strict adherence to current regulations and laws.
. Electric Company (Empresa eléctrica): legal entity, concessionaire that provides the electric service in any of its stages: generation, transmission, distribution, and commercialization.
. Surplus (Excedentes): electrical energy generated from renewable energy sources and injected into the electrical distribution grid, once the distributed generator has met its own demand.
. Full Net Billing (Facturación Neta completa): Economic compensation mechanism for surplus from PDERs, which gives them the right to sell their surplus to the electric company to which the GDA is interconnected, at a price regulated by ARESEP that avoids inefficient costs in the energy purchases of the electric companies' distribution systems, without constituting an obligation on the part of the electric company to purchase this energy.
. GB/T: Standard for recharging electric vehicles according to standard INTE/IEC 61851 23:2017 or its current version.
. Distributed Generation for Self-Consumption (Generación distribuida para autoconsumo): set of technologies or equipment necessary for the generation of electrical energy from renewable energy sources used by the distributed generator.
. Operator of the National Electric System (Operador del Sistema Eléctrico Nacional, OS): technical unit responsible for directing and coordinating the operation of the National Electric System (SEN) and the National Electricity Market (MEN) to satisfy the country's electrical demand, as well as the coordination and execution of electrical energy transfer at the regional level. In Costa Rica, it is the National Energy Control Center.
. MEN: shall be understood as the Electricity Market of Costa Rica or National Electricity Market, the scope in which transactions for the provision of services and the purchase or sale of electricity are carried out through those engaged in the activities of generation, transmission, distribution, and commercialization. This National Electricity Market will be interchangeably referred to as the Wholesale Electricity Market.
. System Operator (Operador del Sistema): is the entity responsible for the operational planning, dispatch, and real-time operation of the SEN, complying with operational safety criteria and the CCSDs established in national and regional regulation, including the administration and allocation of ancillary services; it is also responsible for coordinating regional energy exchanges and ancillary services of the MER. It currently corresponds to the National Energy Control Center (CENCE)".
. PDER: any individual or legal entity that owns or operates a DER.
. SAE-J 1772: Connector protocol for recharging electric vehicles according to standard INTE/IEC 61851-1:2017 or its current version.
. Services of General Interest (Servicios de interés general): are ancillary or complementary services or economic activities linked to the public service of energy supply in all its stages, to satisfy needs of general interest subject to specific public service obligations of a technical, financial, and accounting nature established by ARESEP.
. National Electric System (SEN): Is the power system composed of the following interconnected elements: generation plants, the transmission network, distribution networks, energy storage systems, and users' electrical loads. A set of companies and equipment in the national territory interconnected among themselves and regulated by the set of technical regulations of ARESEP and national technical standards.
. Distributed Energy Resources (DER): are modular generation and energy storage technologies, mainly connected to a medium and low voltage network, managed automatically or manually, that can provide electrical capacity, energy, flexibility, or provide ancillary services to the local grid dynamically when needed. These systems can be connected to the local electrical grid or isolated from the grid in autonomous applications. The following are considered distributed energy resources: a) Distributed generation system for self-consumption, b) Energy storage system, c) Electric vehicles, d) Demand response. Including the interconnection or supplementary systems necessary to meet the requirements of the local grid and its demand response, regulated by the set of technical regulations of ARESEP and national technical standards.
. Demand Response (Respuesta a la demanda): are deliberate changes in the subscriber's electrical energy consumption, with respect to a usual consumption pattern, in response to price signals or incentives.
. Electric Vehicle (Vehículo eléctrico): Any movable asset powered by one hundred percent electric energy or by zero-emission technology and that does not contain a combustion engine, in its version of automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, minibuses, buses, trains.
THE DISTRIBUTED GENERATION SYSTEM FOR SMALL-SCALE SELF-CONSUMPTION