By Manuel Santos Vitor, Catarina Cortez Gamito

Historical and legal background
One of the main national priorities in what concerns the Portuguese electricity sector is the development and full implementation of a strong electric mobility (‘e-mobility’) market. This priority largely results from the government concerns associated not only with the environment (ie, reduction of greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions by using clean energy) but also with the national economy (ie, reduction of public administration and consumer costs; creation of a new industry to develop the necessary technology for said market; and reduction of consumption of fossil fuels).

Considering the above, the Portuguese e-mobility programme was initiated in 2010 with the enactment of a first package of legislation, together with the beginning of the development of the charging grid, hence launching the first part of the pilot phase of this project. The legislation package established the legal framework of the project and several incentives were created to promote the e-mobility subsector in the country.