The Minister of Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, announced in Brussels that the European Commission "accepted well" Portugal's return to the capital of Redes Energéticas Nacionais (REN), considering that public participation allows greater security and energy sovereignty. The decision was explained to the head of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy, Céline Gauer, during a meeting in the European capital.
According to the minister, Portugal was the only country whose electricity transmission company was completely private among the 34 European countries, while 18 out of 40 high-voltage transmission companies are entirely public, as in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Maria da Graça Carvalho highlighted that State participation is of crucial importance for sovereignty and security, stating that this was a matter studied and planned since the beginning of the Government in 2024, coordinated by the Prime Minister.
The Portuguese State regained direct participation in REN through Parpública, which acquired 13.7% from Pontegadea, marking its return to the company's capital after the complete exit in 2014 as part of the privatization process during the financial crisis. The operation was conducted under secrecy so as not to disrupt the company's functioning and remains subject to prior scrutiny by the Court of Auditors and pronouncement by ERSE.
The government official declined to comment on a potential future increase in public participation or State representation on the company's governing bodies, deferring these questions to a later stage and to the Ministry of Finance. The operation comes in a context of growing strategic importance of energy grid management and security, due to the energy transition and the need to strengthen the resilience of critical infrastructure.
