Message from the President - November 2021

I begin by thanking you all of you for another edition of the Portugal Renewable Energy Summit 2021, the annual conference of APREN, which took place on November 9 and 10 at Culturgest Grand Auditorium in Lisbon.

 

It was the first fully hybrid conference, after two major remote events held in the past. It's been a pleasure to see many of you in person, and as for those who couldn't be there physically, I'm sure we'll have other opportunities to meet in the future.

 

I can only thank the remaining conference participants (in record numbers this year), the sponsors, the more than 50 national and international speakers who have awarded us with their participation in our event, the APREN team and all the support team, that helped us to make this event into a success.

 

The Portugal Renewable Energy Summit is already a milestone in the media agenda for renewables and electricity, and we promise to continue to keep it that way for the next edition in 2022. For those interested in watching or reviewing the various panels and presentations of our speakers, they are available on the website of APREN.

 

With the global theme "Renewables, engine of economic recovery", there were many issues addressed in this edition, reflecting the diversity of topics to be discussed on our path towards carbon neutrality. I would like to highlight the announcement made by the Deputy Secretary of State for Energy, João Galamba, in his opening speech in the conference on November 10, with news about the changes that are foreseen in the organization and operation of the National Electric System (NES).

 

Mr Galamba announced that consumers could play a more active role in NES, by producing electricity for self-consumption individually, or by taking part in energy communities, selling surpluses, storing or offering flexibility services.

 

He thus disclosed part of the content of the draft Decree-Law that entered into public consultation on Thursday, November 10, anticipating major changes in the sector. The Decree-Law establishes the obligation to make supply contracts available at dynamic prices, allowing to adjust the profile of consumption at the differentiated price between regular periods and promoting the provision of flexibility services.

 

Dynamic sharing is also foreseen, which efficiently optimizes electricity flows among collectively active self-consumers, encouraging the emergence of new areas of service delivery.

 

The Decree-Law also provides for the installation of meters and smart grids and ensures, through the creation of the figure of the aggregator, the elimination of barriers to participation in electricity markets. The new legislation transposes the European Internal Electricity Market Directive into the national legal system and, in part, the Directive on promoting the use of energy from renewable sources.

 

João Galamba also highlighted the positive effect of electricity production through renewable sources on the wholesale electricity market price. "The Production in Special Regime [PSR] is no longer an overcost, precisely due to the escalation of fossil fuel prices, especially natural gas. This year, the PSR's overcost will act as a buffer for the system, an over-gain, in the face of widespread price increases in European spot electricity markets to which MIBEL does not escape," he stressed.

 

I underline that, as this document is still under public consultation, we would appreciate your contributions and suggestions to send our position quickly to this new decree.

 

Because Portugal needs our energy!