Government lifts restrictions on hydroelectric production
The Minister of Environment and Climate Action (MAAC) says that the rains of the last few days have made it possible to guarantee 65% of the nationwide capacity in the reservoirs.
Restrictions on hydroelectric production have been lifted in all dams identified by the government, except for Alto do Rabagão.
The Minister of the Environment and Climate Action (MAAC) says that, despite the damages that resulted from the floods, the rains of the last few days have made it possible to guarantee 65% of the nationwide capacity in the reservoirs, with the volume of water stored increasing 3.5% compared to the previous week. “This brings benefits at the level of water production,” said Duarte Cordeiro, revealing that only Alto Rabagão dam has “a limitation that concerns reaching a certain flow”.
According to Cordeiro, “the increase in dam capacity has allowed us to increase production of hydroelectric power,” reducing dependence on gas for electricity production, which subsequently has impacted electricity prices and the Iberian mechanism. “Today [electricity] prices represent a 58% difference compared to what the price would be without the Iberian mechanism,” he said.
The latest bulletin of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) shows that almost a quarter of the dams are already above 90% capacity.
