The Portuguese Government has taken significant steps in the development of offshore wind energy with its Dispatch No. 4752/2025, published on April 21st, establishing that the first Portuguese offshore wind tender will adopt a centralise sequential model; and setting an outline and the calendar for the commencement of competitive procedure.
The centralised sequential model consists of two main stages: the first competitive procedure for the allocation of exclusive use of maritime space, followed by a second procedure for reserving injection capacity into the electrical grid, with possible remuneration models to be defined.
DGRM (the ministerial department for natural resources), DGEG (the ministerial department for energy) and EMER (the mission structure for renewables created by the Portugues Government) must present in 60 days a detailed proposal for the implementation of this first competitive procedure including:
- Confirmation and scheduling of the stages of the first centralized sequential competitive procedure, describing the tasks to be carried out and the expected outcomes at each stage;
- Identification of the maritime zones to be included in the first tender;
- Analysis of the existing legal framework, with proposals for revisions, if necessary;
- Definition of pre-qualification criteria for companies; and
- Identification of additional work needed, including socio-economic studies, the definition of fees and tariffs, legal, consulting, and other relevant tasks.
Within 180 days from this dispatch, the three entities must submit a draft competitive procedure documentation for government approval.
This dispatch an implementation of Council of Ministers Resolution No. 19/2025, which recently approved the Portuguese Offshore Renewable Energy Allocation Plan (PAER).
Can we now expect an offshore wind tender by the end of 2025?
In an era of globalization, the posting of employees has become increasingly important. The main objective of the legal regime applicable to the posting of employees is to allow the free circulation of employees while ensuring the protection of their labour rights, as well as the protection of competition between companies operating in the same market.
1. Posting to Portugal
a) Scope
The Portuguese Labour Code defines the posting of employees, providing for the possibility of an employee hired by a company established in another State to carry out his/her activity in the Portuguese territory, as well as the reverse situation of a Portuguese employee, hired by a company established in Portugal, being posted to carry out his/her activity in another State.
With regards to the posting in Portuguese territory, this is only admissible in one of the following situations:
i. In the execution of a contract between the employer and the beneficiary who carries out the activity, provided that the employee remains under the authority and direction of the latter;
ii. In the establishment of the same employer, or in the company of another employer with which there is a corporate relationship of reciprocal shareholdings, control or group (e.g. in the case of occasional assignment);
iii. In the service of a user, at whose disposal the employee was placed by a temporary employment agency or another company; or
iv. In the situations referred to in points (i) and (ii) above by a user established in another State under its national legislation, provided that the employment contract subsists during the posting.
The posting in Portuguese territory is not applicable to navy personnel in the mainland.
b) Applicable legal regime
In case of posting, the Labour Code sets forth rules of necessary application, that is, without prejudice to more favourable regimes established by law or employment contract, the posted employee has the right to the working conditions provided for by Portuguese law and in generally applicable collective labour regulations that respect:
i. Job security;
ii. Maximum working hours (not covering the posting in construction activities aimed at the construction, repair, maintenance, alteration or elimination of buildings, namely excavations, landfills, construction, assembly and disassembly of prefabricated elements, arrangement or installation of equipment, transformation, renovation, repair, conservation or maintenance, namely painting and cleaning, dismantling, demolition and sanitation);
iii. Minimum rest periods;
iv. Holidays;
v. Minimum wage (the minimum wage includes the subsidies or allowances granted to the employee due to the posting that do not constitute reimbursement of expenses incurred, in particular for travel, accommodation and food);
vi. Payment of overtime;
vii. Assignment of employees by temporary employment agencies;
viii. Occasional assignment of employees;
ix. Safety and health at work;
x. Protective measures for parents and minors; and
xi. Equal treatment and non-discrimination.
The Law expressly foresees that the referred rule regarding holidays, minimum wage and payment for overtime is not applicable to the posting of a qualified employee by a company supplying a good, to carry out the initial assembly or installation essential to its operation, provided that this is included in the supply contract and its duration does not exceed eight days in a period of one year.
c) Communication duties to the Labour Authority
The employer must, until the beginning of the posting, report the same to the competent labour authority (Autoridade para as Condições do Trabalho – ACT) by filling a form with the following information:
i. The identity of the service provider;
ii. The number and identification of the workers to be posted;
iii. The identification of the liaison person (the employer is required to appoint a liaison person with ACT and, if applicable, to liaise with the social partners);
iv. The estimated duration and estimated dates for the start and end of the posting;
v. The address(es) of the work-place; and
vi. The nature of the services justifying the posting.
During the entire period of the posting, the employer must keep hard copies or in electronic format of the employment contract, payslips and proof of payment, and records of working time in an accessible place and clearly identified in the Portuguese territory.
The aforementioned documents must be submitted to the ACT, upon request, within one year after the end of the posting, in Portuguese or accompanied by a certified translation.
2. Posting outside Portugal
a) Scope
The posting to another State occurs when a Portuguese employee, hired by a company established in Portugal, carries out his/her activity in another State in any of the situations mentioned in points (i) to (iv) above.
b) Applicable legal regime
The employee posted to another State, outside Portugal, is entitled to the working conditions provided for in item b. of the previous paragraph (“Applicable legal regime” in the case of posting to Portuguese territory), without prejudice to more favourable arrangements set out in the applicable law or the employment contract.
Moreover, in addition to the usual information obligations to be provided by the employer to the employee, there are additional communication obligations, that is, if the employee whose employment contract is regulated by Portuguese law carries out his/her activity in the territory of another State for a period exceeding one month, the employer must provide him/her, in writing and before his/her departure, with the following additional information:
i. Identification of the State or States where the work is to be performed and the expected duration of the period of work to be performed;
ii. Currency and place of payment of cash benefits and, if applicable, benefits in kind;
iii. Possibility of repatriation and respective conditions;
iv. Access to health care;
v. Remuneration to which he/she is entitled under the law applicable in the host State, in situations of posting;
vi. Allowances inherent to the posting and reimbursement of travel, accommodation and food expenses, where applicable; and
vii. Official website of the host State, created under the specific legislation applicable to posting.
Considering the various rules applicable to posting and the different legal regimes in the different countries, employers and employees must, before initiating any posting, inform themselves of their respective legal duties and rights, including before the labour authorities (in Portugal, “Autoridade para as
Condições do Trabalho”– ACT) and Social Security in the destination country and the country of origin. Tax aspects should also not be overlooked. Note, inclusively, that there are special rules, for example, for the posting of drivers.
c) Communication duties to the Labour Authority
In the case of posting to another State, outside Portugal, the employer must notify the labour authority ACT five days in advance of the identity of the employees to be posted abroad, the user, the place of work, the expected start and end of the posting.
It is also recommended in this case to maintain the documents referred to in item c. above (“Communication duties to the Labour Authority” in the case of posting to Portuguese territory) within the referred terms to be presented to the authority whenever requested.
3. Social Security
In terms of Social Security, the general rule is that an employee is subject to the Social Security legislation of the country in which he/she works. Hence, the posting constitutes the main exception to this rule, allowing the employee to continue to be subject to the Social Security legislation of the country of origin as long as the requirements imposed for this purpose by the Social Security of the countries in question are met.
The referred requirements vary depending on whether the posting is to or from Portugal or other countries of the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, countries with bilateral/multilateral agreements/conventions at the level of Social Security or third countries without any agreements/conventions. The location of the establishment, staff, turnover and invoicing of the companies in question may also constitute an essential requirement, among others to be assessed by Social Security on a case-by-case basis.
The posting must be temporary and of limited duration, with the maximum duration depending on the Social Security regime of the countries involved. For example, the posting of an employee from Portugal to another Member State of the European Union can be for a maximum of 24 months (only in exceptional and duly authorised situations may it be extended up to a maximum period of 5 years).
Notwithstanding the above, the duration of the posting may also be subject to more restricted periods provided for in the Labour Code, as is the case of posting through occasional assignment (the duration of the assignment may not exceed one year, being renewable for equal periods up to a maximum of five years and being subject to various requirements and formalities).
The Employer must, in advance, request to Social Security to issue the legally mandatory documentation for the posting, inter alia, in the aforementioned case of posting from Portugal to a Member State for a period of up to 24 months, the issuance of the Portable Document A1 must be requested, certifying that the employee is subject to a mandatory Social Security system (in this case, he/she is covered by Portuguese Social Security legislation).
Finally, it should be noted with regard to the posting regime that Social Security has already clarified that teleworking situations are not considered posting, as the legislation of the Member State where the employee is physically carrying out the activity applies
4. Conclusion
Given the multitude of potentially applicable rules, it is essential to assess in advance which legal rules apply to each specific case, before any posting is initiated.
Breach of legal rules on posting may constitute a serious offence and result in the employer incurring significant fines.
The new rules for the identification, protection, and resilience of critical entities aim to ensure that entities providing essential services for maintaining social functions and vital economic activities can prevent, protect, respond, manage, and recover from incidents such as terrorist threats or public health emergencies.
In this regard, Decree-Law No. 22/2025, of March 19, establishes (i) the terms and procedures for identifying critical entities pursuant to the national resilience strategy and the national risk assessment, (ii) the obligations of critical entities, and (iii) the sanctions for non-compliance with these obligations.
The identification of critical entities will be carried out by the National Council for Civil Emergency Planning according to the following criteria:
- The entity in question provides an essential service.
- The entity operates and its critical infrastructure (asset, facility, equipment, network, or system located in Portuguese territory, whose disruption or destruction would significantly impact the provision of an essential service) is situated in Portugal.
- An incident would have significant disruptive effects on the provision of one or more essential services, considering factors such as the number of users, the entity’s market share, and the geographical area that could be affected.
The essential services include (non-exhaustive list):
- Energy: Production, supply, transportation, distribution, and storage of electricity, gas, and oil.
- Air, rail, and maritime transport: Transport services and management of infrastructure and traffic.
- Road transport: Traffic management control within intelligent transport systems.
- Banking: Acceptance of deposits, lending, and payment services.
- Financial markets: Operation of trading platforms and clearing systems.
- Health: healthcare services, research and development of medicines, manufacturing of basic pharmaceutical products and preparations, production of medical devices considered critical during a public health emergency, and storage and distribution of medicines.
- Drinking water: Supply and distribution of potable water.
- Wastewater: Collection, treatment, and disposal of wastewater.
- Digital infrastructures: Cloud computing services, data centres, content distribution networks, trust services, public electronic communications services, and public electronic communication networks.
- Food production, processing, and distribution.
- Insurance and pension funds.
Entities identified as critical will be notified and given 15 days to answer, after which they may be considered designated as such. The identification of critical entities must be reviewed every four years.
Critical entities will be subject to several obligations, including:
1. Appointment of a liaison officer responsible for institutional coordination and a liaison officer for each critical infrastructure and notice of such appointment to the competent authorities within 10 days.
2. Conducting a risk assessment within 9 months. The risk assessment must be updated every four years or whenever necessary.
3. Development and implementation of a resilience plan based on the risk assessment and submission for approval by the Secretary-General of the Internal Security System within 10 months. This plan must include the technical, security, and organizational measures necessary to ensure the resilience of the entity and its critical infrastructures, including physical protection, security plan for each infrastructure, identification of categories of personnel with critical functions, and training and exercises for human resources. The resilience plan must be reviewed every four years or whenever necessary.
4. Notification of incidents that disrupt or may disrupt the provision of essential services or the operation of critical infrastructures within 24 hours.
5. Conducting at least one exercise under the approved resilience plan to test the adequacy of its measures, procedures, and actions.
6. Prior notification of changes in legal status and the sale or transfer of the essential service, including identification of the purchaser and assurance that the relevant information of the resilience plan is conveyed to the purchaser.
7. Prior notification of the sale or transfer of critical infrastructures, with at least 30 days' notice before the transaction takes effect, including identification of the purchaser.
Failure to comply with these obligations constitutes an administrative offense subject to fines and other penalties.
The obligations outlined in points 1 to 5 above and the penalty regime do not apply to critical entities in the banking, financial markets, insurance, pension funds, and digital infrastructure sectors.
The national resilience strategy for critical entities and the national risk assessment must be defined by January 17, 2026. The current regime (Decree-Law No. 20/2022, of January 28) will remain in force until then. The designation of critical entities in the essential sectors must be completed by July 17, 2026.
Decree-Law 23/2025 introduces amendments to the VAT exemption scheme for small businesses, as well as measures to reduce costs and simplify the process.
Under the former VAT exemption regulations, taxpayers with registered offices in Portugal who did not maintain organised accounting were eligible for the exemption, as long as they met the following criteria:
- Did not engage in import, export, or related activities; and
- Their turnover in the previous calendar year, did not exceed €15,000.
The revised rules now extend this regime to micro-companies with organised accounting, as well as to taxpayers involved in imports and the sale of goods or services listed in Annex E of the VAT Code. The previous rules only applied to companies established in the Member State where the tax was due. However, under the new rules, businesses with headquarters or domicile in other European Union Member States now qualify for the VAT exemption if:
- The internal conditions required for the exemption are satisfied;
- The annual turnover within the European Union does not exceed €100,000;
- The company has notified the Member State of establishement, of its intention to apply for the exemption within its national territory;
- The company has obtained a unique identification number with the suffix 'EX' for exemption purposes.
In addition, companies based in Portugal that operate in other Member States are also eligible for the exemption in transactions involving the transfer of goods or the provision of services, subject to the same conditions.
Taxpayers with their headquarters or domicile in Portugal may request this exemption by applying for a change to their VAT status in June 2025.
Starting from the 1st July 2025, taxpayers with their headquarters or domicile in another Member State, who currently benefit from the previous exemption rules, will no longer be eligible for such exemptionsand must end their activity for VAT purposes. Nevertheless, this does not affect their ability to notify the relevant Member State of their intention to continue benefiting from the exemption, provided that the applicable conditions are met.
Under the new rules, it is important to highlight that the exemption will no longer apply if the threshold is exceeded by more than 25% within the current calendar year.
Finally, Decree-Law 23/2025 introduces several simplification measures, including the removal of the requirement for the submission of the recapitulative statement for companies benefitting from the exemption, as well as the option to issue simplified invoices.
The Portuguese Government has approved Decree-Law 14/2025, of 17 March (“DL 14/2025”), which amends the Credit Institutions and Financial Companies Law with the aim of finally implementing in Portugal the following legal instruments:
- Regulation 2020/2223, which amends Regulation (EU, Euratom) N.º 883/2013 regarding cooperation with the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and the effectiveness of investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office;
- Regulation 2022/2036, which amends Regulation (EU) N.º 575/2013 and Directive 2014/59/EU, particularly with regard to the prudential treatment of global systemically important institutions; and
- Directive 2024/1174, which amends Directive 2014/59/EU and Regulation (EU) N.º 806/2014 concerning the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities.
With regard to the first regulation, DL 14/2025 authorises the Bank of Portugal to disclose information contained in its databases, subject to banking secrecy, to the European Anti-Fraud Office (“OLAF”), in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) No. 883/2013.
With regard to the other two legal acts, DL 14/2025 introduces amendments to the banking resolution regime.
On one hand, it includes the definition of “liquidation entities” (i.e. entities that are expected to be wound up under a resolution plan) and exempts them from complying with the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities — better known as “MREL”. However, it allows the Bank of Portugal to impose a minimum amount of own funds and eligible liabilities exceeding the amount necessary to absorb losses, which the entity must meet through one or more of the following elements:
- Own funds;
- Claims that meet the eligibility criteria; and
- Claims arising from debt instruments.
On the other hand, it allows the Bank of Portugal to apply the own funds requirement on a consolidated basis to a “subsidiary” — and no longer solely to the parent company — if certain conditions are met, namely that the subsidiary is directly owned by the resolution entity. In this case, and for the purpose of complying with the requirement, DL 14/2025 recognises the eligibility of claims issued or contracted in favour of the resolution entity belonging to the same resolution group and subscribed by it, as well as the claims issued or contracted in favour of shareholders of the entity in question who do not belong to the same resolution group.
DL 14/2025 has entered into force on 22 March 2025.
According to Portuguese media, the shareholders of Novo Banco S.A. ("Novo Banco") have initiated the sale of a 25-30% stake in Novo Banco through an IPO and have appointed Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan Chase as financial advisors and the Portuguese office of the international law firm Linklaters as legal advisor.
Novo Banco is Portugal's fourth largest bank, providing a variety of financial services, including deposits, loans, insurance products, credit cards, and online banking with a retail network of 290 branches and representative offices in Spain and Switzerland.
Novo Banco was established on August 3, 2014, following the Bank of Portugal's resolution of Banco Espírito Santo, S.A. ("BES"). The BES resolution involved transferring certain "good" assets, liabilities, off-balance sheet items, and assets under management from BES to Novo Banco, leaving former BES as the bad bank.
The Portuguese Resolution Fund made an initial investment of €4,900 million to ensure Novo Banco's solvency and operational continuity.
In December 2015, the Bank of Portugal made a controversial decision to retransfer €2,000 worth of senior bonds back to BES, citing the need to strengthen Novo Banco’s balance sheet and meet regulatory capital requirements. The retransfer affected many small investors as well as several large international institutional investors and led to litigation in the Portuguese courts. Litigation is still ongoing but it cannot affect Novo Banco which is ringfenced under the Portuguese banking resolution laws.
On October 18, 2017, Nani Holdings, SGPS, S.A., a company owned by the American private equity fund Lone Star, acquired a 75% stake in Novo Banco. This acquisition was carried out through share capital increases of €750 million in October 2017, and €250 million in December 2017. The remaining 25% shares are controlled by the Portuguese State and the Portuguese Bank Resolution Fund.
As part of the sale to Lone Star the parties entered into a Contingent Capitalisation Agreement ("CCA"), a financial support mechanism financed by the Portuguese Resolution Fund, which was designed to ensure that Novo Banco maintained the agreed capital levels to support its operations during the restructuring phase. Under the CCA, the Portuguese Resolution Fund was obliged to inject capital into Novo Banco if certain losses materialised on contingent assets.
The State aid granted to Novo Banco was subject to conditions imposed by the European Commission to safeguard competition in the Portuguese financial and banking markets. These conditions included: restrictions on the management of assets under the CCA, oversight by a statutory advisory monitoring committee, and a prohibition on distributing dividends to shareholders.
The CCA was originally set to end in December 2025. However, Lone Star and the Resolution Fund agreed to terminate CCA earlier, allowing Novo Banco to resume dividend distributions.
With the termination of the CCA:
- all disputes between Novo Banco and the Resolution Fund concerning unpaid amounts under the CCA (estimated at approximately €400 million) are ended;
- no further capital injections or other payments can be claimed;
- the monitoring committee is dissolved; and
- the asset management restrictions and the limitations on the distribution of dividends are lifted.
Lone Star, Novo Banco's main shareholder, will receive €900 million in dividends and the Portuguese State, which directly and indirectly holds the remaining 25 percent, will receive €300 million.
In 2024, Novo Banco reported total assets of €45,044 million and total liabilities of €40,490 million, with an EBITDA of €200 million. The bank's strong results are due, among other things, to the sale of non-performing loans ("NPLs"), lowering its gross NPL ratio to around 3.5% and significantly improving the bank's asset quality ratios.
Reports suggest that Novo Banco's IPO valuation should range between €4,800 million and €6,200 million. Although an IPO seems the most likely way for the shareholders to start the sale of Novo Banco, a private sale cannot be excluded yet.
According to the press, Caixa Geral de Depósitos ("CGD"), the state-owned bank, and Millennium BCP, the two largest Portuguese banks, may be interested in acquiring control of Novo Banco. Spain's Caixabank, which owns BPI, one of Portugal's largest banks, and Santander, another Spanish bank with a strong presence in Portugal, might also consider acquiring Novo Banco. However, a sale to any of these entities could raise competition concerns due to the size of Novo Banco and the potential scale of the combined entity resulting from the acquisition. Smaller Spanish banks, international banks, and private equity firms could also explore this opportunity, given the overall growth prospects of the banking sector.
KEY INFORMATION
Main Shareholders
- Lone Star Funds, through Nani Holdings S.à.r.l. (75%)
- Resolution Fund (13.5%)
- Direção-Geral do Tesouro e das Finanças (12.5%)
Main Subsidiaries
- BEST – Banco Eletrónico de Serviço Total, S.A. (online banking)
- GNB Gestão de Ativos – Sociedade Gestora de Organismos de Investimento Coletivo, S.A. (portfolio management)
Financial Information
- Total assets: €45,044 million
- Total Liabilities: €40,490 million
- EBITDA of €200 million
- Net Profit: €610.4 million
- Net Interest Income: €886.3 million
- Loans to Costumers: €27,600 million
- Commercial Banking Income: €370.6 million
Law 16/2025 authorizes the Government to partially transpose Directives (EU) 2020/285 and (EU) 2022/542 ("Directives"), establishing the framework for a future VAT exemption regime for small businesses.
The aim of the new legislation is to establish clearer and more specific conditions for the application of the special VAT exemption scheme for small businesses, simplifying the regime and ensuring a more effective and uniform application throughout the European Union.
Among the main changes to be approved by the Government, as set forth in Law 16/2025, are the definition of stricter criteria for the application of the exemption regime, the determination of situations in which the regime ceases, the adaptation of declarative and invoicing obligations, the revision of the regime applicable to agricultural producers, the exemption from registration obligations for holders of income from isolated acts and income from category B of the IRS.
The conditions to access this regime will become more restricted, with the annual turnover limit in the national territory set at €15,000 and the exclusion of occasional transactions and transfers of new means of transportation.
In addition, the exemption regime will now apply to taxpayers headquartered or domiciled in other Member States who, provided certain requirements are met, do not exceed an annual turnover in the EU of €100,000. For taxpayers residing in Portugal, there will be the possibility of benefiting from the small business exemption regime in other Member States, provided that certain conditions to be defined by the Government are met.
The taxpayers covered by the special exemption scheme will not be able to exercise the right to deduct the VAT paid or to its refund.
The government shall, when transposing, provide for transitional measures for taxpayers not established in national territory who no longer qualify for the special exemption regime.
The new regime will also bring changes to the reporting, invoicing, and registration obligations applicable to the taxable persons covered, as well as the adaptation of the lump-sum regime for agricultural producers and the conditions for the exemption from the registration obligations currently provided for holders of income from isolated acts and income from category B of the IRS.
Upon the entry into force of Law 16/2025, the Government will have 180 days to transpose the Directives as outlined in this authorization. Small businesses should remain alert and prepare to review their internal procedures, ensuring compliance with the new legal requirements to be established.
This newsletter was prepared with the assistance of KeyTerms AI assistant, using OpenAI technology, and reviewed and amended by lawyers. This information is of a general nature and should not be considered as professional advice.
The Portuguese Government has extended by one year the deadline for publishing the timeline and guidelines for public tenders for low-voltage ("LV") power distribution grid concessions.
The low-voltage grid (“LV Grid”) is operated by private entities awarded with a concession provided by the municipalities. It can also be operated directly by each municipality, but none of them is currently doing so. We note that the LV Grid operation must be carried out in exclusivity.
Originally, public tenders for LV Grid concessions were set to be launched by June 2025. However, on September 2, 2024, this schedule was revoked, and a Low Voltage Coordination Committee ("CCBT") was established.
The CCBT was supposed to propose a new schedule and publish the guidelines for these tenders by December 15, 2024, but this did not happen. With Resolution of the Council of Ministers N.º 30/2025, of 20 February, December 15, 2025, was set as new deadline for submitting the schedule proposal.
The prior qualifications requirements for the tenders were already strict with applicants needing at least 5 years of experience in operating distribution grids. In this sense, this change goes against the efforts of interested players who had been preparing to participate in the tenders in 2025.
The exiting LV Grid concessions were to expire between 2021 and 2022. Until now extensions have been granted to the concessionaires and until new tenders are completed the preexisting concessions will remain effective. At this time it is unclear if the new tenders will happen in 2025 or if stakeholders will need to wait a bit longer for their opportunity in the market.
Read our previous publications on this subject:
The Portuguese LV grid tenders
The Portuguese distribution grid: update
The Portuguese Low Voltage grid tenders postponed once again
Finally, all clear for the Portuguese LV grid tenders?
Are new tenders for low-voltage electricity distribution concessions at sight?
Order n. 1859/2025 (Order) published on February 10 by the Portuguese energy ministerial authority (DGEG), established the procedures for licensing of electricity storage facilities with previously allocated injection capacity in the Public Service Electricity Grid (RESP), for:
- Change of technology in a solar power generation center with an injection capacity reservation title (TRC) that has not yet been built; and
- Standalone/Autonomous storage or co-located storage with previously allocated injection capacity reservation in RESP for a renewable energy power plant.
- Technology Change
A TRC issued under the general access modality for a solar generation center can be changed to an autonomous storage installation, provided that, at the time of the request, the power station construction has not yet started.
The request for modification must be submitted by the TRC holder to DGEG along with the following documents: (i) Identification of the existing TRC; (ii) Summary of the intended operating conditions; (iii) Maximum injection capacity into RESP; and (iv) Maximum apparent power for charging from RESP.
DGEG will review the request and forward it to the relevant grid operator, who has 30 days to provide an opinion on the maximum charging power and any operational restrictions for the storage facility. After the grid operator's response, the request is sent to the system’s global manager (REN), which has 15 days to issue an opinion on the same matters.
If favorable, the grid operator must issue the modified TRC within a maximum of 10 days after DGEG's authorization.
- Use of Allocated Capacity
The injection capacity in a TRC granted to renewable energy power plants can now be simultaneously used to request a production license for autonomous or co-located storage installations, provided they are connected as follows:
- For the National Transmission Grid: at the same grid connection point;
- For the National Distribution Grid: on the same circuit.
The production license request must be submitted by the TRC holder to DGEG (with the explicit authorization of the storage installation holder) along with the required documents listed in Annex I of Decree-Law 15/2022, as well as:
- A summary of the intended operating conditions for the storage installation, including maximum injection and charging power through RESP; and
- A written agreement between the storage installation holder and the power plant holder to coordinate operations and inject the produced energy into RESP.
DGEG will review the request for compliance and forward it to the grid operator and the system's global manager for their opinions on the maximum charging power and potential operational restrictions for the storage facility.
If the opinions are favorable, DGEG will issue the production license within a maximum of 30 days.
The storage installation holder must ensure that the coordinated power plant is not simultaneously coordinated with other autonomous storage facilities. However, the storage installation may benefit from the injection capacity of multiple power plants.
This order came into effect on February 11, 2025.
DGEG, the Portuguese energy ministerial authority, has finally started publishing data on electricity injection capacities in the National Transmission Network (“NTN”) and the National Distribution Network (“NDT”). As of February 5, this information will be updated quarterly. The first dataset, reflecting figures as of December 31, 2024 is available here.
Although there is capacity that remains unallocated, new license applications for renewables’ production to be sold through the grid are currently suspended under Order 27/2020, as amended by Orders 33/2020, 40/2020 and 58/2020.
At present, registration applications are only being accepted for small production units (known as “UPP”) that are either experimental or conceptual demonstration projects. These units must be installed in maritime areas, inland waters, or used for green hydrogen production, as specified in Order 58/2020.
The quarterly publication of these data complies with Decree-Law 15/2022, (“SEN Law”) which regulates the organization and operation of the National Electricity System, transposing Directive (EU) 2019/944 and Directive (EU) 2018/2018, an thus aligning Portugal’s energy policies with European standards.
In fact, DGEG was already required to publish available electricity injection capacities in the national grid – covering the NTN and NDT – on its website: this obligation should have been implemented six months after the SEN Law’s enactment on January 15, 2022, with data referencing December 31st of the previous year.