EDP argues that “data centers” must bear their share of the costs

Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade said, in a meeting with journalists about EDP’s 50th anniversary, that Portugal has room to receive data centers, but only if this growth is planned, accompanied by more energy generation and without transferring costs to other consumers.

“ I would say that we must ensure that there is always this balance between demand and supply. Therefore, if there are more ‘date centers’, there is more generation and there is no socialization of the energy cost here”, he said.

“What we see in many countries, for example, in the USA and not only, is that the ‘date centers’ have to pay most of the associated costs,” added Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade.

According to the manager, data centres may even have a positive effect if additional demand contributes to diluting network costs, but this analysis should be done at the outset.

Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade also argued that the ‘date centers’ should create local value, “add some value to the community of the place where they are inserted”, and not just consume electricity.

EDP’s executive president considered that this is “a legitimate concern” and that it should be worked with those who want to install data centers in the country.

“If this is thought in the head, I think it can be done well. But it cannot be done in an uncontrolled way,” he added.

Asked about consumers and the reduction of electricity bills, Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade said that in Portugal, the price paid by customers is the result of a regulated component, linked to network access tariffs and general interest costs, and of a market component associated with the wholesale price of energy.

“In Portugal, in particular, it’s dictated a lot by the market,” he said, saying that there is “great competition” between marketers.

The manager said EDP seeks to maintain tariff stability without frequent changes in customer prices.

“ We usually try to be stable. So we are not changing prices not every day, not every quarter,” he said.

“If the price is falling, customers pay less. If it's increasing, it'll increase. But this reflects the intrinsic cost of energy,” he added.

On the periods when the wholesale price of electricity reaches zero, Stilwell d’Andrade stressed that these moments do not represent the annual market average.

“ Sometimes it is reported when they are zero, but that is not the average of the year and therefore it is not based on that that one can make a price to the customer that consumes all year ", he said.

On the strengthening of network resilience, he admitted that more investment can weigh costs, defending the need for balance between system efficiency, price and security.

“ If I want to have a very, very resilient network, I will have to pay for it ", said.

Regarding electrical mobility, he considered that the loading network has evolved and that the situation is “very well resolved”, although he admits that it will continue to be necessary to invest.

“The part of mobility, I think is quite well resolved,” he said, referring to the existence of loading stations in service stations, hypermarkets and housing.