Portugal edges closer to declaring energy crisis as gas prices surge in General Energy News 25/03/2026 An existing energy crisis scenario allows the government to act directly in limiting prices, but this can only happen after an EU-level decision. Portugal is very close to meeting the European criteria for declaring an energy crisis due to rising gas and fuel prices, Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho warned. We are getting close to the criteria for declaring an energy crisis,” said da Graça Carvalho, stressing that, if confirmed, the scenario would allow for the implementation of “measures that are being analysed and quantified as to how we can protect families and also companies.” Since the energy transition and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU has been overhauling its energy market regulations as the bloc has weaned itself off Russian gas. EU directive 2024/1788 establishes a new regulatory framework for internal markets regarding renewable gas, natural gas and hydrogen, including formal mechanisms for dealing with energy price crises. Under the rules, the Council of the EU may declare a natural gas price crisis at a regional or EU level by way of a collective decision. For that threshold to be reached, certain conditions must be met — including average wholesale natural gas prices of at least two and a half times the average over the previous five years and no lower than €180/MWh, or a sharp rise in retail natural gas prices of around 70%. If Portugal reaches that level, Carvalho said, “A resolution must be achieved by the Council of Ministers and the European Commission [must be] informed,” adding that a European Council decision is also required. A separate regulation on the EU electricity market, Directive 2024/1711, allows member states to temporarily set regulated electricity prices below cost during a price crisis, provided suppliers are compensated and the measure does not distort competition or incentivise higher consumption. The two directives use similar criteria for defining an energy crisis based on price rather than supply. Portugal must therefore monitor the figures and wait for a Council decision before it can intervene at the price level. “The possible declaration of an energy crisis, if it occurs, is a European mechanism that allows member states to adopt exceptional measures to support families and companies — namely support that, under normal circumstances, could be considered state aid,” she continued. It is not, therefore, a sign of a supply shortage, but rather an instrument of protection against price shocks,” Carvalho said. Natural gas is the most worrying The possibility of an energy crisis declaration in Portugal was raised by Carvalho the day after the government approved a framework of measures for energy crisis situations involving both individual consumers and companies. The measures are, according to the government, “temporary, limited to the period of validity of the European declaration and should minimise the fragmentation of the internal market”, and may include limiting prices. These measures, these interventions in the market, include the possibility of limiting prices, of setting prices below the cost price, depending on developments,” said António Leitão Amaro, the Ministry for the Presidency, who handles communication for the Portuguese government. Despite the scenario being floated, Amaro was keen to stress that Portugal remains far from meeting the EU’s thresholds.