“Following the blackout, during which we were more vocal about interconnections than usual, there was significant progress from France’s side,” stated Maria da Graça Carvalho to Lusa.
“Together with Spain—which has also been pushing for this—the breakthrough, the novelty, was France reaching an agreement with the European Investment Bank for a unified loan to finance the interconnections,” noted the Portuguese Energy Minister after participating in a meeting of European Environment ministers in Luxembourg.
This “demonstrates France’s interest in accelerating this project,” pointed out Maria da Graça Carvalho.
The stance comes as EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen urged EU member states to reduce energy taxes and proceed with interconnections to lower energy bill prices.
The April 28 blackout in the Iberian Peninsula highlighted the importance of enhancing the EU’s energy network resilience, especially when the Iberian region has less than 3% connectivity with the rest of the Union.
The Portuguese government has been advocating for increasing Portugal’s energy interconnection with the rest of the EU to 15% by 2030 through constructing more interconnections.
The strengthening of energy interconnections between Portugal, Spain, and the EU has been under discussion for several years. However, due to skepticism from France, it has never fully progressed, despite its importance for improving energy security, reducing fossil fuel dependency, lowering costs, and facilitating the shift to renewable energies.
The European Commission shares Portugal’s view on the necessity to build more energy interconnections in the EU, especially between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of the bloc, and plans to advance an action plan in the fall while attempting to engage France.
In a letter sent to EU Energy ministers today, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen noted that “prices remain too high compared to major competitors,” which is “a burden,” particularly for the most vulnerable consumers.
One proposal from the official is tax reduction, currently weighing up to a third of the energy bill: “Reducing them has a real and immediate impact, notably for energy-intensive industries and vulnerable consumers. The Commission will provide guidance and support on how member states can move in this direction, which I strongly encourage you to explore.”
Furthermore, for Dan Jørgensen, “interconnections are essential to ensure everyone can access energy at the best cost.”
“I urge you to improve interconnection with your neighbors. The Commission will support this effort through the networks package and the Energy Highways initiative,” he added.
The European Commission will propose the creation of energy highways to increase interconnection, notably of electricity, in the EU, expecting Portugal and Spain to benefit from such links due to their energy isolation.
Maria da Graça Carvalho told Lusa that Portugal is “increasing interconnections” with Spain and “is very aligned to participate in this initiative” of the European executive.
