The regulated supply Market of electricity in Portugal

: which perspectives for the future?

Abstract

Electricity is a fundamental resource of our society, and one we cannot live without. The liberalization of the electricity supply market in Portugal has raised some discussion on whether consumers will benefit, or if this good will be of more difficult access. In this dissertation, the goal is to answer the question: “What should happen to the regulated supply market of electricity?” In order to properly answer the question, and after a characterization of the Portuguese electricity system, the liberalization processes of Spain and the United Kingdom were analyzed, as to withdraw some conclusions and apply it to Portugal. The outcome was that the Portuguese market is not ready for full liberalization, and a mechanism is required in order to protect consumers from possible price increases. This mechanism is similar to the structure used in Spain, and could provide both the benefits of competition in the market, and the desired protection to the ultimate stakeholders who must benefit from this situation: consumers.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)