Marinha Grande, Leiria, Portugal, March 13, 2026 (Lusa) - The Portuguese minister for the environment and energy said on Friday in Marinha Grande that there are various European mechanisms that could be triggered if gas prices rise by around 70%, in order to help consumers and businesses.
“If we see a gas price rise of around 70%, we won’t even need new European legislation; member states can take action, and they can do so to help consumers and businesses,” said Maria da Graça Carvalho on the sidelines of a visit to Praia da Vieira, in the district of Marinha Grande, Leiria region.
According to the minister, there are “various instruments ready to be deployed”.
“I worked hard on this European legislation, because I was in the European Parliament during the Ukraine crisis, and one of my tasks was precisely to prepare the gas regulation, the electricity regulation, the design of the European electricity market for crises, and to define the criteria for an energy crisis,” added the minister.
For Maria da Graça Carvalho, the “greatest difficulty and vulnerability lies precisely in the price of gas”, a fuel “essential for certain industrial sectors”.
“Here in this region it is extremely important, as we have the glass and ceramics industries, two sectors that really need gas to operate,” said the minister.
The minister added that “there will be the possibility, when an energy emergency is declared, for the member state, if it so decides, and in line with the European Commission, to act accordingly, without the need for authorisation from the Directorate-General for Competition, nor for new European or national legislation”.
Maria da Graça Carvalho also emphasised that “gas also influences the price of electricity”, so “even when an energy emergency is declared, there are possibilities to limit this influence of gas prices on electricity prices”.
Reiterating that the Government is prepared for various scenarios, the minister noted that “this is an important week”, as “it begins with the Energy Council and the Environment Council” and “at the end of the week there is the European Council meeting, which the prime minister will attend”, where these matters will be discussed.
Hoping that the “energy emergency does not materialise”, the minister noted that “if the war does not stop”, it will be necessary to “act decisively”.
On nuclear energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho considered that, given Portugal’s potential in terms of renewable energy, “it makes no sense”.
“Nuclear energy is very important for some countries. For example, France has nuclear power, has good conditions for it and faces no major seismic risks. We, at this moment, do not have the capacity to do so, nor the scale that would require it,” she stated, insisting that this form of energy is sought after, above all, by countries “of a certain size, without seismic instability and with little potential for renewables”.
For Maria da Graça Carvalho, Portugal’s priority is renewable energy, because “it is competitive” and represents the country’s “energy independence”.
“It is much cheaper than any other type of energy. In the first two months of this year, 83% of our electricity came from renewable sources and we want to go further. We want to continue electrifying transport and buildings," she concluded.
On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched a military strike against Iran to "eliminate the imminent threats posed by the Iranian regime".
In response, Iran launched retaliatory strikes against targets in Israel, US bases and other infrastructure in countries across the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Iraq. Incidents involving Iranian projectiles also affected Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Turkey.
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