After the European Commission having finally approved the aid plan designed by the Portuguese Government to support industries with high electricity consumption, the implementation of the Electro-Intensive Consumer Statute (“ECS”) established by Decree-Law 15/2022, is now completed with the enactment of two new regulations:
- Ministerial Order 112/2022, of March 14th, sets now the eligibility requirements for electro-intensive consumers, as well as the obligations and support measures applicable to their respective facilities; and
- Order 5975-B/2022, of May 13th, establishing that applications for adhesion to the ECS must be submitted through the DGEG portal by June 15th of each year, together with information identifying the applicant's consumption facilities. If DGEG issues a favorable decision, the draft contract for adhesion to the ECS will be made available to the applicant for signature.
ECS grants (i) a partial reduction in charges related to costs of general economic interest (CGEI) applied to electricity consumption from the public grid with discounts on this portion of the bill that can reach 85%, (ii) full exemption from the CGEI on the energy consumed from self-consumption units delivered through the public grid, (iii) access to a risk hedging mechanism (minimum 10%) of the electricity consumption from renewable sources acquired through long-term contracts, and (iv) the exemption from the proximity criteria between the self-consumption units and the consumption facilities.
The support is intended for industrial sectors such as the production of ceramics and glass, metalworking, and textiles. Companies whose annual electricity consumption exceeds 20 gigawatt hour (GWh), that have at least 40% of consumption during off-peak periods (slack and super-slack periods), and whose electro-intensity is equal to or greater than 1 kWh per euro of gross value added, based on the arithmetic average of the last three years.
To benefit from this support, companies must commit to investing at least 50% of the aid received in projects that reduce the carbon intensity of their facilities. In addition, they must ensure that at least 30% of their electricity consumption comes from renewable sources, whether through long-term contracts, self-consumption investments, or other energy sustainability initiatives.
ECS will result in annual support for companies of at least 60 million euros, according to a statement released by the Ministries of Environment and Energy and the Economy. The Portuguese Government estimates that there are 319 companies that meet the necessary conditions to receive the support.