Regulatory context

Accordingly, the regulated activities are carried out taking into account the determinations, parameters, and technical and commercial indicators defined by ERSE, framed in the aforementioned regulations, of which we highlight:  
 

• Quality of Service Regulation – Approved by ERSE for the electricity and gas sectors, it defines the obligations and service quality levels, the compensation to be paid in case of non-compliance, and the monitoring and reporting obligations. The regulation also contains rules for network operators and suppliers on continuity of service (number and duration of power cuts), quality of electricity (amplitude, frequency, wave shape, and symmetry of the three-phase voltage system), and efficient commercial management (customer care, information, complaints, and services provided to customers). 
   
• Commercial Relations Regulation – It establishes the commercial relationship between stakeholders in the electricity and gas sectors. It sets out the way in which the various players relate to each other and to customers and consumers, and it defines the commercial conditions for connection to public networks, the rules regarding measurement, reading, and availability of consumption data, and the rules applicable to the choice of supplier and the operation of the markets. 
   
• Rate Regulation – it defines the allowed revenues of the regulated companies in the gas and electricity sectors to be recovered through the rates, the rate structure, the procedures for setting, changing, and publishing the rates, and the obligations and procedures for providing information to ERSE.   
   
• Access to Grids, Infrastructures, and Interconnections Regulation – applicable to the gas sector, it establishes, with objective, transparent, and non-discriminatory criteria, the technical and commercial conditions for access to transmission and distribution networks, gas storage facilities, Liquefied Natural Gas terminals, and interconnections. It includes the rules for access to the gas grid by producers of gases of renewable and low-carbon origin.  
   
• Access to Grids and Interconnections Regulation – applicable to the electricity sector, it establishes the technical and commercial conditions under which access to the grids and interconnections of the electricity sector takes place, the conditions under which entities must provide (or restrict) access to their networks, as well as the remuneration due, and the conditions for using the interconnections. The Regulation also defines the obligations for operators to provide information to ERSE and the disclosure of information to the public for the purposes of access.  
   
• Network Operation Regulation – applicable to the electricity sector, it establishes the conditions allowing the management of electricity flows in the Portuguese National Transmission Grid, ensuring its interoperability with the networks to which it is connected, as well as the procedures to ensure its implementation and verification. The regulation also sets out the conditions under which the transmission system operator monitors the availability of the power generating facilities and, in cases where the guarantee of supply is at stake, may change the unavailability plans of the power generating plants. This regulation also defines the conditions for the technical verification of operation and the adaptation, in real time, of generation to consumption, through the contracting and mobilisation of system services. This regulation has specific influence on the Global Technical Management of the Portuguese National Electricity System, which ensures the coordination of the operation of the facilities of the Portuguese National Electricity System. It is responsible for managing interconnections, namely determining the interconnection capacity available for commercial purposes and identifying the needs and managing the system services required to balance generation and consumption, as well as the safe operation of the electricity system. Additionally, it is responsible for forecasting the use of production equipment and the level of hydroelectric reserves necessary to guarantee security of supply in the short and medium term.  
   
• Infrastructure Operation Regulation – regulates the operation of the Portuguese National Gas System, focusing on the coordinated operation of the grids and infrastructures of the public gas grid, in accordance with article 112 of Decree-Law 62/2020 of 28 August. This Decree-Law enables the production of gases of renewable or low-carbon origin and their injection into the natural gas networks. The Regulation also covers the coordination of events of unavailability and operation in contingency situations.