Decree Law No. 162/2019

This decree-law establishes the legal scheme applicable to self-consumption of renewable energy, individual, collective or by renewable energy communities.

Renewable energy - is energy from renewable sources (e.g. solar, wind, hydro, geothermal).

Self-consumption - is the consumption of electricity produced by infrastructures that produce renewable energy.

Self-consumers - those who engage in self-consumption of renewable energy and may also, in addition to production and consumption, share, store and sell such energy.

Until now, only individual self-consumption was allowed.

This decree-law allows self-consumers to group together, and the same unit of energy production may have several self-consumers (collective self-consumption).

It is also allowed that self-consumers and other participants in renewable energy projects constitute legal entities (the Energy Communities) for the production, consumption, sharing, storage and sale of renewable energy.

This decree-law is intended for Portugal to achieve the goals defined within the scope of the National Energy-Climate Plan for 2021-2030, namely to achieve a 47% share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption in 2030, as well as to reduce the price of electricity consumption for those who adhere to self-consumption.

This law guarantees greater efficiency from an energy and environmental point of view and ensures that opportunities for energy transition (e.g. costs of the national electricity system) are shared fairly and impartially, both by companies and by citizens interested in participating, without public subsidies.

This decree-law enters into force five days following its publication and takes effect:

1. As of 1 January 2020, regarding individual self-consumption projects and projects for collective self-consumption or CER, which cumulatively:
• Have an intelligent counting system;
• Are installed at the same voltage level;
2. As of 1 January 2021, for other self-consumption projects.