Electricity prices in Portugal
What a household in Portugal pays for electricity, where the power comes from, and how the country differs from its neighbours.
Portugal gets more of its electricity from wind and water than from anything else, and on the wholesale market it is usually priced together with Spain. That makes the Portuguese price largely a matter of weather: a wet, windy winter fills the reservoirs and keeps prices low, while a dry year leaves more evenings to gas plants. Since the last coal plant closed in 2021, gas is the only fossil fuel of any size left on the mainland.
There are no hourly prices on this page. Instead it describes how prices are set, what a Portuguese bill contains and how the country compares with Spain and France, with Eurostat's official household prices for the last three years in the chart below.
The exchange's hourly prices in Portugal may not be freely republished, so this page does not show them. The household prices here are Eurostat's official figures, updated every six months.
Where does the electricity in Portugal come from?
Gross electricity generation in 2024 by energy source. Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_peh).
Household price since 2023
Average price per kWh, all-in, for a household using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year. Source: Eurostat (nrg_pc_204).
A household in Portugal using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year paid 23.7 c/kWh on average, all-in, in H1 2026, 1% less than a year before (Eurostat).
Eurostat's figure for each half-year, with taxes, levies, network costs and VAT. Updated twice a year.
How the electricity price works in Portugal
Priced in Iberia, regulated in Lisbon
Portugal's day-ahead price comes from OMIE, the exchange of the Iberian electricity market (MIBEL), which is coupled with the rest of Europe; futures for the same market trade on OMIP in Lisbon. Portugal is its own bidding zone, but it takes Spain's price whenever the lines across the border have room. The regulator ERSE sets the network access tariffs each year, as well as the regulated tariffs that the supplier of last resort still offers next to the many market contracts. REN runs the transmission grid and E-Redes most of the distribution.
Contracted power, time options and a TV fee
A Portuguese bill starts with the contracted power, measured in kVA and charged per day, and the energy used, either at a single price or split into two or three time periods (bi-horária, tri-horária). Both include the network access tariffs. Then come the special consumption tax on electricity, a small fee for the energy directorate DGEG, the audiovisual contribution that funds public broadcasting, and VAT, with a reduced rate on part of the consumption for small connections. Low-income households receive the social tariff, a discount applied automatically.
Rain, wind and the Spanish border
Rainfall matters more in Portugal than in most countries: the big dams on the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana can cover a large share of demand in a wet year and very little in a drought. Atlantic wind adds swings of its own, and fast-growing solar now lowers midday prices in spring and summer. When water and wind fall short, gas sets the price. Because Portugal's only land link is to Spain, Spanish conditions pass straight into Portuguese prices; in 2022 and 2023 the two countries applied the Iberian cap on gas for power generation together.
Wind first, water second, no coal
Wind is Portugal's largest source, followed by hydro, which includes pumped-storage plants that soak up surplus wind and solar power. Solar has grown quickly, gas plants provide backup, and biomass from forestry and the pulp industry adds a steady share. Coal ended in 2021 with the closure of the Sines and Pego plants. The islands run their own systems: São Miguel in the Azores uses geothermal heat, and both archipelagos still burn oil. The blackout of 28 April 2025, which also cut power across mainland Portugal, showed how closely its grid is tied to Spain's.
Spain next door, France beyond
Spain is Portugal's only neighbour on the grid, and on most days the two share one price, although Spain leans more on solar, nuclear and gas, and Portugal more on hydro and wind. Portugal has no nuclear power of its own. France, reachable only through Spain, runs mostly on reactors and often has a different price because the lines over the Pyrenees are narrow. Seen from Denmark, Portugal is a fellow wind country, but one that balances the wind with mountains and reservoirs rather than with interconnectors.
Portugal compared with its neighbours
In 2024, wind made 30%, hydro made 24% and solar made 15% of the electricity generated in Portugal. Wind, solar, hydro, nuclear and bioenergy together made 77% of generation in Portugal.
Gross electricity generation in 2024 by energy source. Source: Eurostat (nrg_bal_peh). Pumped hydro is left out.
Voltly does not cover Portugal yet
Voltly shows hourly prices in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Netherlands and Belgium.
Voltly is for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Questions about the electricity price in Portugal
- What does an ordinary household in Portugal pay for electricity?
- A household in Portugal using 2,500–5,000 kWh a year paid 23.7 c/kWh per kWh on average, all-in, in H1 2026, according to Eurostat. The price varies with the network company and the contract.
- How much of the electricity in Portugal comes from wind?
- 30% of the electricity generated in Portugal came from wind in 2024 (Eurostat), the largest single source.
- How does the power mix in Portugal compare with the neighbours?
- In 2024: Portugal: wind 30%, hydro 24%; Spain: wind 22%, solar 21%; France: nuclear 67%, hydro 12%.
- Why are there no hourly prices for Portugal on this page?
- The hourly prices for Portugal are set and published by OMIE, the Iberian exchange, and its terms do not allow them to be republished here. Rather than show figures without permission, the page uses Eurostat's official household prices, which are collected twice a year and include network charges and taxes.
- Are regulated electricity tariffs still available in Portugal?
- Yes. Next to the market offers, the supplier of last resort sells regulated tariffs whose prices ERSE fixes once a year, so they change far less often than market prices. Households on an ordinary low-voltage connection can choose them. Most customers are nevertheless on contracts in the liberalised market.
- Why does a Portuguese electricity bill include a TV fee?
- The audiovisual contribution (contribuição audiovisual) funds the public broadcaster and is collected through electricity bills because almost every home has a connection. It is a fixed monthly amount that does not depend on how much electricity you use; households with very low annual consumption are exempt.