The Minister of Environment and Energy argued today that the State’s participation in REN can help accelerate investments in the electricity grid, necessary to increase renewables, and contribute to reducing electricity prices.
“To reduce the price of electricity, we have to increase, for example, the share of solar and renewables, which are at a much lower cost than other technologies,” Maria da Graça Carvalho told parliament.
In a hearing before the Environment and Energy Committee, she linked the State’s recent acquisition of 13.7% of REN – National Energy Grids with the need to accelerate investments in the grid and the connection processes.
According to the minister, several investments planned for Portugal are currently dependent on the availability of capacity in the electrical grid.
“We have a long list of very important investments to be carried out in Portugal that depend on the availability of the electrical grid,” she said.
Maria da Graça Carvalho argued that increasing the weight of renewable energies requires that investments in the grid be carried out rapidly and in the places where they are needed. “And for that, we need to carry out the necessary investments quickly, where they are needed,” she said.
The minister contended that the State’s shareholder position in REN adds an intervention instrument to the existing mechanisms through the approval of development and investment plans and independent regulation.
The minister had already argued that the availability and price of clean energy will be decisive for Portugal’s competitiveness and for attracting investment.
“The first factor of the country’s competitiveness will be the availability and price of clean energy,” she said.
Parpública recently completed the acquisition of 13.7% of REN from Pontegadea Inversiones, the investment company of Amancio Ortega, founder of Inditex, owner of Zara, in a move that marked the return of the State to the capital of the manager of electricity and gas networks, after having exited in 2014.
With the acquisition, the State became the second-largest shareholder of REN, behind the Chinese State Grid, which holds 25%.
