The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, advocates that the Energy Services Regulatory Entity (ERSE) should extend its sanctioning powers to the National Petroleum System. In a letter sent to ERSE's president, Pedro Verdelho, the minister requests that the economic regulation and supervision competencies be deepened, in order to ensure consumer protection.
The study submitted by ERSE to the ministry reveals that, although the entity has been exercising regulation and economic supervision competencies over the National Petroleum System since 2018, this evolution was not accompanied by the adaptation of the sanctioning regime, maintaining a dissociation between supervision competencies and the necessary instruments to ensure compliance with obligations.
The regulator compares this situation with the electricity and natural gas sectors, where legislation provides for a sanctioning regime associated with non-compliance with regulatory obligations. ERSE notes, however, that strengthening the sanctioning regime should not be confused with administrative price control mechanisms, and should focus only on non-compliance with legal obligations such as information and transparency duties.
In addition to extending sanctioning powers, the minister also requests greater transparency and consumer empowerment through clearer information about fuel prices. Maria da Graça Carvalho also asked ERSE to identify concrete next steps, present a timeline, and point out possible needs for legislative changes.
