The court rejected the precautionary measure filed by EDP in the dispute over seawater intake associated with the former Sines Thermoelectric Plant, allowing the process of integrating the infrastructure into the Águas de Santo André concession to proceed. The decision was announced by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, during a hearing before the Environment and Energy Committee of the Assembly of the Republic. The minister stated that EDP had filed a precautionary measure that she found particularly displeasing, but that the application was rejected by the court.
At the heart of the dispute are the seawater intake and return structures used by the former Sines coal-fired power plant, which was shut down in January 2021. The framework for this infrastructure was altered by Decree-Law No. 52/2026, of February 16, which expressly provides for integration into the concession of the protective breakwaters and water intake and return structures located on public water domain.
Maria da Graça Carvalho defended that the infrastructure should remain under public management, stating that both the intake and the return to the sea must be a public good, linking this position to the public nature of water and the environmental impacts of its use. The decree-law frames this option within a scenario of increasing demand for water for industrial use in the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone and the need to reduce pressure on conventional resources.
The rejection of the precautionary measure represents a decision favorable to continuing the model defined by the State, but does not close the judicial dispute between EDP and the State, as the main action remains before the court.
