New Madeira wind turbines will not directly cut electricity bills

New turbines are being installed at the Loiral III and Paul wind farms in Madeira, part of a €19.65 million project by ENEREEM, a subsidiary of EEM, replacing ageing equipment and adding capacity. Similar investment is underway in Porto Santo, potentially covering 60-70% of its annual electricity from renewables. While this reduces fossil fuel use and system costs, Madeira's electricity prices are set by the regulator ERSE through a national tariff convergence mechanism aligning costs with mainland Portugal. As a result, savings from wind generation do not automatically translate into lower bills for consumers.

This appeared in the Pulse of 10 August 2026 — Read that edition →