This Friday, the prime minister denounced discrimination against Endesa, saying that the company’s president told “lies” about the Iberian market, requiring “special caution regarding this operator.”
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to Luis Madureira’s kindergarten in Amadora (Lisbon), António Costa was asked if he was discriminating against the company by signing the Endesa order.
“No, this is not discrimination at all. (…) As we all heard, the president of this company announced that prices would increase by 40% and said something false that this increase was due to the existence of the Iberian market. , and everyone knows it’s a lie, and so it required extra care with this operator,” he replied.
The Prime Minister emphasized that “the state obviously checks all invoices”, reiterating that in the specific case of Endesa, “because there was clearly a mistake in understanding how the mechanism works [ibérico] it was important on the part of this company that there was technical, and not just financial, control of the invoice.”
Costa said he didn’t understand why the order he signed “was a surprise” given that “any normal customer usually looks at an invoice before paying,” a responsibility that increases when it comes to a state “that pays in cash.” taxpayers.”
When asked that he released the order after Endesa had already issued a statement committing to maintaining regular prices until December, Costa replied that “it is true that the order was published after this statement, but the order was earlier.” to this statement.
“There is a specific reason why there is a re-verification because, as we know, it is enough to look at the rates of the accounts that each of them has entered into to understand the particular complexity of these accounts. And with people who have raised doubts that the Iberian mechanism guarantees a price reduction and does not contribute to its growth, it is important that there is control, a more accurate technical check,” he said.
The prime minister also said that Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Joao Galamba had already issued an order “explaining, on the one hand, how each legal entity must check the account to ensure that the taxpayer does not pay more than you should pay.”
“If there is a discrepancy with this account, then there should be a technical check by the main energy department,” he said.
On August 2, Prime Minister António Costa determined that public services could not pay Endesa’s bills without prior review by the Minister of Environment and Energy after the company’s president acknowledged a 40% increase in electricity.
In the order, the Prime Minister emphasizes the duty of the state to protect the interests of taxpayers in the management of public funds in the face of “threats of speculative pricing practices that Endesa will practice.”
Endesa President Nuno Ribeiro da Silva said on 31 July in an interview with Jornal de Negócios and Antena 1 that there would be an increase of around 40% in July electricity bills and that this increase was justified by the Iberian control mechanism. the price of gas in electricity generation.
Following these statements, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action released a statement rejecting Nuno Ribeiro da Silva’s statements, calling them “alarmist”.
After the controversy, Endesa issued a statement on August 1 in which it committed to keep the contract prices until December and to fulfill the obligations set out in the Iberian Mechanism.
During his speeches to journalists, António Costa was also asked if the government already had an energy saving plan, to which he replied that “The Ministry of the Environment, through ADENE, is preparing this plan.”
“I spoke with the minister – he is on vacation, but answering the phone – and I know that in the coming weeks we will have a plan ready, it will need to be discussed in the government, and then it will be announced properly,” he said.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
