The President of the Government of the Azores announced on Monday that the Government will allocate the amount of ten million Euro of EU funds to support projects developed by the company Electricidade dos Açores (EDA).
These projects reinforce the contribution of renewable energies to electricity generation, an area which was praised by Carlos César given the positive results achieved.
“Between 1996 and 2009 the contribution of renewable energies to the electricity sector has grown ten times,” the President of the Government revealed, stressing that EDA should always bear in mind the goal embodied in the regional energy plan, which is to increase in fifty percent the contribution of renewable energies by 2014.
Taking into account that the road sector represents a third of the overall energy consumption in the Azores, Carlos César also reminded the need to introduce in that sector more vehicles powered by electricity, a goal which has been pursued by EDA as well as by the Green Island project .
The President of the Government spoke at the end of a meeting of the Board of Electricidade dos Açores S.A., led by Roberto Amaral, which was attended by the Vice-President of the Government of the Azores, Sérgio Ávila, the Regional Secretary for the Environment, Álamo Meneses and by representatives of other shareholders of the Grupo EDA.
For Carlos César, the meeting not only represents the strategic importance of the business sector of the Grupo EDA, which also includes the production, transport, distribution and marketing of electricity in the Azores, but also acknowledges the value the partnership between the Regional Government, the majority shareholder, and the reference shareholders, ESA and EDA.
“We also want to make public the Government’s involvement in the decisions and strategic investments,” Carlos César stated, adding that the company Electricidade dos Açores, in addition to being one of the major employers in the Region with almost one thousand workers, it is also one of the most important investor, having achieved positive results over the last years.
With regard to the structure of EDA, the President of the Regional Government stressed that “there will not any significant change in the shareholding structure, however this is not a matter that should be excluded from any decision in the medium and long term.”
Carlos César added a that if the Region, eventually, loses the majority of shares in the company, it will not be a problem as the existing regulation in the electricity sector leaves little room for shareholders in terms of management.
On the other hand, the convergence of electricity fares – a process whose application in the Azores was extraordinary important – was one of the aspects that the Regional Government wanted to highlight with its presence at the headquarters of EDA on Monday morning.
“In order to achieve a balance, we would have to raise the electricity fare in sixty-eight percent,” revealed Carlos César, adding that, fortunately, this situation was avoided with the convergence of fares, which also have brought important financial resources.