Brussels approves €175M State support

The European Commission has approved Portugal’s extraordinary state support package regime worth €175 million to help companies that are energy intensive to meet their electricity bills.

The regime should partially offset energy costs for companies that use more electricity which is more expensive as a result of the impact of carbon prices on the cost of electricity production (indirect emission costs) incurred between 2021-2030, on the back of the EU Carbon Emissions Trading System.
The measure will benefit companies which “face significantly higher electricity costs and are particularly exposed to international competition”, with State support awarded to partially offset the indirect costs of green house gas emissions incurred the previous year, with the final compensation payment being made in 2031.
The maximum amount of support per beneficiary will be equal to 75% of the indirect costs of the emissions incurred from the Emissions Trading System.
To provide an incentive for energy savings, the amount of help is calculated based on a benchmark standard of electricity energy consumption, with the beneficiaries receiving refunds if they apply specific recommendations from energy audits such as covering at least 30% of their electricity energy consumption from carbon free sources, or investing around 50% of the amount of State support on projects that would lead to substantial reductions in carbon emissions at their premises. The beneficiaries will have to meet one of these obligations within three years after the financial support has been granted.