Lisbon, May 9, 2025 (Lusa) - The CEO of EDP said on Friday that E-Redes would allocate 20% of its planned investment of €1.6 billion by 2030 to strengthening the networks, and that the impact on tariffs would be "immaterial".
"With the increase in the penetration of renewables in the grid, I think there is consensus in the sector that it is necessary to ensure adequate returns for the electricity grids to support these higher investments and reinforce the modernisation of infrastructure," Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade said today during a conference call with analysts as part of the presentation of EDP's first quarter results.
In this regard, he recalled the 50% increase in investment proposed by E-Redes, an EDP company and national electricity distribution network operator, to €1.6 billion from 2026 to 2030.
This proposal, which is part of the Electricity Distribution Network Development and Investment Plan (PDIRD-E) submitted to the regulator at the end of last year, "has now received a favourable opinion from the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE), the first ever without any proposed investment cuts," he pointed out.
"I believe there is a consensus in the sector that additional investment in the networks is necessary, and I think this is good news for investment in our network business," added Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade.
Detailing the figures presented in the plan that E-Redes has to submit to the regulator every two years, the group's CEO pointed out that "around 45% of the investment will be allocated to modernising the network, 15% to digitisation and around 20% to electrification and decarbonisation".
Finally, given that the issue has gained importance in the last two weeks due to the blackout on 28 April, he stressed that "20% of the investment will be allocated to making the networks more reliable and ensuring a robust and continuous service" to keep pace with the increase in the incorporation of renewable energy.
He believes everyone sees this step as "absolutely essential to ensure the energy transition."
Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade also emphasised that, "according to the regulator, the impact [of this investment] on tariffs is immaterial."
"We are talking about a cumulative increase of 0.7% [by 2030] in electricity tariffs," which constitute part of the total value of electricity bills.
"This is an increase that is irrelevant in the context of the cost of the systems". He also commented that we want to invest on several fronts here in the networks.
Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade said that Portugal and Spain are awaiting the new regulatory periods that will define tariff updates, for example. Here, ERSE's decision will be known by 15 December this year, while in the Spanish market it will be in 2026.
However, he believes that investment conditions in Spain could be improved.
The return on asset base (RAB) is currently 5.6%, with no inflation adjustment. In addition, there is a maximum investment limit of 0.13% of GDP, which limits the sector's bets, he regrets.
The Spanish government recognises this situation, which, according to EDP's chief executive, has already acknowledged that “it needs to be changed.”
EDP closed the first quarter with profits of €428 million, an increase of 21% over the same period last year.
SCR/ADB // ADB.
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