>>> Endesa to bid for Portugal's electricity network

Endesa to bid for Portugal's electricity network - report (translated)
24 SEP 2018
Spain-based energy group Endesa [BME:ELE] is planning to participate in the mega auction of electricity distribution network in Portugal, one of the most juicy business operations currently being prepared in the energy sector in Europe, Expansion reported citing market sources.
In the coming months, and after decades managed by Portuguese electricity giant EDP, the concessions for the electricity distribution network in Portugal are going to be auctioned as part of a liberalisation process undertaken by the Portuguese Government, the item said
The distribution networks in Portugal, although managed by EDP, are owned by a commonwealth of municipalities. Each municipality owns its own network and is managed by the electricity operator through temporary concessions, some of them for several decades. All concessions expired between 2016 and 2026, with different schedules and renewal procedures. Some were already expired and others were not, which generated chaos for the market. In an exercise of simplification, the Government decided this year to take a leap in the liberalisation of the market in order to introduce more competition, bringing together in a single procedure the entire process of renewal of this labyrinth of concessions.
The new regulation states that all concessions will be auctioned again on a single date in 2019, yet to be decided, the item reported.
The government must also decide whether to set a minimum exit price or investment commitments and if it conducts a single auction with all the networks, performs one for each network or groups them into lots, the Spanish-language paper highlighted,
Last Monday, the deadline for potential stakeholders to submit a non-binding letter showing their willingness to participate in the process and requesting more information expired.
Endesa is present in Portugal since 1993. With a market share of 18% in supplied energy, it is the second largest marketer in the country, with a portfolio of 300,000 domestic and industrial customers. In terms of electricity production, the plants in which Endesa has a stake were responsible for ensuring 16% of the country's electricity consumption by 2017, Expansion added
The company posted almost EUR 20bn in sales last year, of which more than EUR 1bn came from Portugal.