The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, may have a smiley face and loveable character but many businessmen would not like to be in the position of EDP’s boss, António Meixa, as he faces a presidential inquiry into electricity pricing.
Rebelo de Sousa said on Saturday that EDP's recent increase in electricity prices is a matter that he is studying and about which he will be making an announcement.
"It's a subject I don’t want to discuss right now, as I am still studying it and monitoring what's going on, because it's a wider and wider topic but I will make a pronouncement," said the head of state.
In 2018, in the free market, EDP Comercial is raising the price of its electricity by an average of 2.5%.
According to company president, Miguel Stilwell, the main reason for this 2.5% average increase in tariffs is the "increase in energy prices in the wholesale market by 24% in the last year," largely due to the drought and the increase in the price of coal.
"We have to reflect this increase in our prices," said Stilwell in late December.
Regarding the possibility that the other free-market suppliers also will raise tariffs, Miguel Stilwell did not want to speak for the others, but considered that "any rational company, given the 24% increase in energy costs, will reflect this in their prices."
The Government already has asked the Energy Services Regulatory Agency for information and analysis on those ‘free market’ suppliers which have increased their electricity prices and overall invoices.
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Grid-connected photovoltaic systems installed in Portugal supplied just 1.7% of the country’s power production in 2017, according to grid company REN.
Hydro-electric power supplied 11% of total demand, and wind power supplied 23%. Biomass production was 5%, while natural gas and coal were burned to supply 60% of last year’s energy demand, with shares of 34% and 26%.