Amadora, Lisbon, Feb. 5, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese minister for the environment and energy has said that 95% of people who lost power should be reconnected on Saturday, 98% on the 14th and the rest by the end of the month.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday evening after a meeting on flood management at the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) in Amadora, in the lisbon region, Maria da Graça Carvalho said that the Government had asked the electricity distributor, E-Redes, for a power restoration schedule, following widespread power cuts in several regions in the centre of the country due to last week's Kristin depression.
According to the company, as of Wednesday afternoon, there were still 76,000 customers without power.
The minister said that the last two percent of power restoration is the most difficult, but that E-Redes has said it will do everything to have it resolved by the end of the month.
Maria da Graça Carvalho said that five days after the storm passed last week, 80% of people had access to the grid and highlighted the complexity of restoring electricity.
"The national electricity system in that affected area was completely destroyed. Under normal conditions, it would take many months to rebuild that system," said the minister, recalling that almost a thousand electrical substations were destroyed.
She also pointed out that the restoration of this very specific service has to be carried out by accredited personnel, with more than 2,000 people working on the task, supported by professionals who have arrived from Madeira, Spain, France and, as of Thursday, Ireland.
When asked about the generators made available, the minister explained that 318 are connected and 500 have been mobilised, some of which arrived from Spain.
Maria da Graça Carvalho justified the longer delay in connecting the generators with logistical issues and said that of all the districts affected, now only 20 did not have a generator.
On Thursday or Saturday, all parishes in the affected area will have a generator, said the minister, citing E-Redes.
She said that it is impossible to rebuild an electricity network in a short time and recalled that the pylons not only fell but also broke and were twisted.
She also recalled that in the affected area there is a large dispersed and isolated population, with roads blocked in the early stages of the repair operation.
Mainland Portugal is currnetly being affected by the Leonardo depression, with persistent and sometimes heavy rain, snowfall, wind and rough seas expected until Saturday, according to the national meteorological institute.
A week ago, the country was hit by the Kristin depression, which mainly affected the central region and led to the death of ten people, the total or partial destruction of houses, businesses and equipment, fallen trees and structures, road and transport service disruptions, particularly railway lines, school closures and power, water and communication outages.
Hundreds of people were also injured and displaced.
Leiria, Coimbra and Santarém are the regions that suffered the most damage.
The government declared a state of emergency until Sunday for 68 districts and announced a package of support measures worth up to €2.5 million.
FP/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
