Moody’s believes that “the risks of political intervention in Spain are higher than in Portugal” in the energy market.
In a report published this Wednesday, the financial ratings agency highlights that “in Portugal, regulated tariff levels benefit from a large number of competitive energy purchase agreements (“PPA” in English) long-term conditions of renewable origin.” which, according to Moody’s, “reduces the risks of political interventionism”.
Quoted in the report, Benjamin Leir, vice president of Moody’s Investors Service, notes that, by contrast, “the Spanish government is evaluating the application of a tax on energy company income and a ‘return’ [mecanismo regulatório que visa equilibrar a concorrência no mercado grossista da eletricidade] on profits generated by companies that do not emit CO2” and is also exploring “reform of the regulated electricity tariff structure to reduce its volatility”.
In both cases, Moody’s expects that consumers in the Iberian Peninsula will continue to face less punishment than in other European regions: “Prices in the wholesale energy market in Portugal and Spain are likely to continue Europe”. .
The agency recalls that “prices on the wholesale energy market in these countries are still determined by gas prices in the region”, and “gas prices in Portugal and Spain are lower than natural gas prices from the TTF countries of the Netherlands, the main benchmark for Western Europe “. , “so far this year”, in addition, “they are less exposed to disruptions in the supply of Russian natural gas.”
