The government announced on Thursday that it will restore access to the regulated gas market to household consumers and small businesses, as a measure to mitigate the impact of the price hike announced last Wednesday by energy traders EDP Comercial and
During the press conference of the Council of Ministers, which took place this afternoon, the Minister of Environment and Climate, Duarte Cordeiro, announced that the executive has decided to lift the restrictions on the regulated gas tariff, allowing households and small businesses with annual consumption to ten thousand cubic meters are exposed to a 150% increase in gas bills – which, according to the government official, is not comparable to the 3.9% increase announced by the Regulatory Authority for Energy Services (ERSE) for the regulated market from October.
According to the government official, this measure will cover approximately 1.5 million customers, who will then be able to choose the regulated market for that raw material again. This is a number, the government estimates, that represents about 7% of Portugal’s gas consumption and 12% of all contracts.
“The government has been working on a series of measures designed to respond to the rise in the cost of living for the Portuguese,” the minister said. However, “in light of what we know” – referring to the EUR 30 increase in the gas bill announced on Wednesday by EDP Comercial – “we have decided to anticipate”.
Asked by the media about the possibility of the executive adopting one of the instruments proposed by the European Commission related to the reduction of VAT on gas, Duarte Cordeiro said that the measure now being proposed by the government is “more effective.” than other alternatives”, since “direct impact on the price that households pay for gas”, even “a saving compared to the current price”.
“Entry to the regulated tariff is a support – the biggest support – to control and lower the price of electricity and gas,” the minister emphasized.
Also as part of the package of measures to alleviate the rise in energy prices, the government has also announced that it will provide support for bottled gas, relaunching the “Bilha Solidária” programme, now involving the parish councils and CTT. is launched. This initiative awards ten euros a month per gas bottle to beneficiaries of the social energy tariff and the minimum social benefits.
Concerning the increase in aid to industry, especially for companies with intensive energy consumption, the Environment Minister referred the responsibility to the Ministry under the supervision of António Costa Silva. “This is a measure that needs to be clarified by the Ministry of Economic Affairs,” he emphasized.
With regard to the electricity market, Duarte Cordeiro said we are faced with a scenario where “the regulated market has not seen any surges and there are several offers from suppliers that have not seen sharp increases”. The minister also emphasized that the government has joined forces to reduce the prices they charge, by applying the Iberian mechanism, noting that “the benefit of this adjustment mechanism should be visible” on customers’ invoices. On the subject, the official also stressed that the statements of the president of Endesa, Nuno Ribeiro da Silva, had no basis, as they had only “wrongly seduced the Portuguese”.
Other points raised by the press also related to the renewal of the Petroleum Products Tax (ISP), to which the government official replied: “The government is reviewing”. The same reaction led to the question of the possibility of taxing energy companies on excessive profits: “At the right time, we will assess whether they existed,” concluded Duarte Cordeiro.
EDP Commercial announced on Wednesday that from October, residential customers’ natural gas bills will rise by an average of 30 euros. The company’s justification is related to the increasing price increase in international markets and the fact that there was no update on the amounts charged a year ago. Asked by Dinheiro Vivo, the energy company said that this measure will affect a universe of 650 thousand customers, including the 21 thousand users of the social tariff.
On the same day, Galp stated that it would increase the gas price, also in the same month, although it has postponed the announcement of the concrete value of the increase to a later date. Last month, the oil company raised the price of natural gas to accompany, in its view, “the increase in purchasing costs in line with the evolution of the product on the international market”.
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Source: DN
