Energy company, EDP, has decided to pay the special energy tax for 2017, stating that the conditions to proceed with the payment have been met.
EDP declined to comment but the Ministry of the Environment confirmed that, "the amount to be paid by EDP settles the outstanding payments related to the Special Energy tax."
This levy on the country's energy producers was created in 2014 and at first EDP paid up but in 2017, the company unilaterally announced that it would stop paying the €60 million-a-year tax and went to court to contest those payments it had handed over in previous years.
Galp Energia always contested the tax and has failed to pay up, while REN, despite challenging the tax, has always made payments.
EDP has always said that it was willing to pay the tax as it was not a permanent tax and the amounts go towards reducing the tariff deficit.
For the first time, this year the government is using the tax income as it stated it would when the unpopular measure was introduced, as a €155 million tax transfer is being made to reduce the tariff deficit.
This is leading to 3.5% fall in electricity bills in 2019 for over a million customers still in the regulated market.
