One of Ren’s most important tasks is transmitting electricity and planning, constructing, operating and maintaining the National Electricity Transmission Network.

José Penedos’ long history in the national energy sector has ranged from serving as Secretary of State for Industry and Energy to Chairman of the World Energy Council Committee for Portugal. Today, as President of REN, he talks about the company’s success, its alternative energy plan and its policy on environmental protection.

REN has maintained a strong rating despite the ups and downs the global energy sector is experiencing. What have been the key drivers behind your performance?

REN has outstanding operational standards. We are very proud of our performance, especially, for example, because we have not had a single blackout since 2000, which is extremely noteworthy. Also our financial drive and our human resources are important factors. We have a skilled and efficient team.

What are REN’s plans in terms of the market and shareholder structure?

I have been preparing to put the company on the market since 2001. A national grid company is a good product. If you do not have companies that are reliable and stable in profits and results in a small market like Portugal, you cannot attract new investors. We need more investors and REN is the perfect company to put on the market. The fact that it is 70 percent owned by the state does not affect our reliability, effectiveness or profitability.

‘REN is the perfect company to put on the market. It is reliable, effective and profitable’

Portugal is developing new, innovative technologies to provide clean, renewable and alternative energy . How do the Priority Investments in Infrastructures Program (PIIP) and the alternative energy programs work?

We are preparing our grid to be effectively compatible with all the wind clusters in Portugal. We are planning to have an additional 4,000 MW in addition to the existing 1,200 MW that we have today and we hope to generate 5,200 MW by 2010. To succeed in renewable energies, our grids must be upgraded to absorb these new sources of energy. Our investment profile for the next five years, based on €200 million a year, will not only go towards the densification of our grids but towards our substations and networks so that they are compatible to accept all types of renewable energies, ranging from wind and hydro to biomass and wave energy. We are also implementing gas power plants, or Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs), in the next six years. These new infrastructures will prepare us to accept all the energy delivered.

How is REN ensuring an environmentally friendly approach of operating in order to protect the natural beauty of Portugal?

We are collaborating with the Instituto de Conservação da Natureza, which is the Portuguese department for public administration in charge of environmental and licensing procedures. The amount of effort in collaborating with the environmental authorities behind the €200 million of annual investments requires a lot of work. In addition to our team, which is skilled in dealing with preservationist issues, we are investing money in environmental publications in collaboration with the Instituto do Ambiente to promote the preservation of the environment.