Lisbon, May 21, 2026 (Lusa) - The number of complaints in the energy sector rose by 85% in the first three months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, with billing issues coming to the fore, driven by complaints from Galp customers.
According to data released by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority on Thursday, 9,584 complaints were filed between January and March 2026, an 80% increase from the previous quarter.
The electricity sector (71.2%) continues to account for the highest number of complaints, followed by those relating to dual electricity and gas supply (13.6%).
The four most frequently complained about issues, billing, supply interruptions, technical service quality and supply contracts, accounted for 66.5% of the total.
"Compared with issues from previous quarters, there has been a notable increase in complaints regarding supply interruptions and the quality of technical service, undoubtedly influenced by the outages experienced at the start of 2026, linked to a colder period and higher consumption, and the prolonged outages following Storm Kristin," the regulator said in its energy consumer support bulletin.
Furthermore, the issue of billing saw its prominence increase significantly this quarter, rising by 10 percentage points from the previous quarter, driven primarily by difficulties with supplier Petrogal, a Galp company.
Since the end of 2025, the company’s customers have reported delays in electricity and gas billing, resulting in accumulated bills of high amounts.
This situation persists, as Lusa reported last week, despite the company having said in March that the problem had been resolved.
Requests for the Energy Authority to intervene during the period under review rose by 75% to 2,250 compared with the previous quarter.
"Compared with the same quarter of 2025, the increase is even more significant (99%), a rise undoubtedly explained by the factors mentioned in relation to the rise in complaints,” it said.
As the Energy Authority's intervention occurs during a second phase, after the provider has issued a response to the complainant, it is expected that the current rise in complaints will continue to impact the number of intervention requests submitted to the regulator in the coming quarter.
"In 40% of cases where the Energy Authority was asked to intervene, consumers’ claims were fully or partially satisfied, and in 35% of cases, the information necessary to clarify the matter for the consumer was provided," it added.
SCR/MYAL // ADB.
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