01
Agree the purpose and participants
Write down who should benefit, who wants to join, and which buildings or installations could take part.
The Portuguese starter guide
Start with people.
Build the right foundations.
A practical path through the decisions, roles and official procedures. Use it to organise your next steps and the questions you need to resolve.
This is an organising checklist. Requirements depend on the project and current official rules. Confirm them with the relevant authority and professionals.
02
Choose the legal and sharing pathway
Distinguish ACC from CER/CCE entities. Confirm amended proximity rules, current eligibility and transition arrangements with DGEG.
03
Set governance and appoint the EGAC
Agree decision-making, joining and leaving, responsibilities and how benefits and costs will be allocated. Name the entity that will represent the sharing group.
04
Check the project and financing
Assess roof/site rights, generation and consumption profiles, installation design, maintenance and costs. Separate project estimates from measured outcomes.
Official sources
05
Prepare the DGEG registration
Use DGEG’s portal and its Registo, Cadastro and Certificação phases. Identify installations, participants and the EGAC; follow the current project-specific document requirements.
Official sources
06
Resolve network and metering requirements
Follow the network assessment and check the suitability of meters. Establish which data permissions and network-use arrangements apply.
Official sources
07
Confirm approval and activate sharing
Complete the applicable certification process, confirm allocation settings, and conclude the network-use contract where public-network sharing requires one.
08
Review the community’s operation
Review data, charges, maintenance and member arrangements. Compare actual results with the original assumptions and keep members informed.
Language matters
Four terms to keep clear.
Sharing electricity and creating a community
involve distinct legal and organisational choices.
Autoconsumo individual
Renewable self-consumption for one installation.
Autoconsumo coletivo
Renewable self-consumption shared across multiple installations. An arrangement, without automatically establishing a community legal entity.
Comunidade de Energia Renovável
A renewable-energy community legal entity with participation, proximity and benefit-purpose requirements.
Comunidade de Cidadãos para a Energia
A citizen-energy community legal entity with a broader electricity-activity scope, including non-renewable energy.
Starting definitions from Decreto-Lei 15/2022, including articles 189–191 (opens in a new tab). Confirm the current consolidated provisions for your project.
Check the operating details
Sharing, bills & proximity.
Using the public network
Network charges can apply to shared energy through the public grid. The EGAC handles the applicable network relationship. Include current tariffs in the project economics.
ERSE: network charges (opens in a new tab)Selling surplus
Surplus sales need the relevant commercial arrangement. Prices, representation costs and risks depend on the contract; do not assume a guaranteed feed-in payment.
ERSE: autoconsumption report (opens in a new tab)Meter data & sharing
E-Redes illustrates accounting in 15-minute intervals. Its EGAC data service uses sFTP; the schedule depends on the sharing mode and permissions.
E-Redes: quarter-hour accounting (opens in a new tab)Geographic proximity
The amended article 83 includes distance and network-connection alternatives. Check the principal UPAC, voltage level and low-density provisions together.
- BT / low voltage
- 2 km
- MT / medium voltage
- 4 km
- AT / high voltage
- 10 km
- MAT / very high voltage
- 20 km
Distances alone do not determine eligibility. Same-substation alternatives and doubled distances in low-density territories may apply.
2026 amendment: article 83 (opens in a new tab)The people around the project
Know who does what.
Members
Agree purpose, participation, governance and member arrangements.
Official source (opens in a new tab)EGAC
Represents the collective self-consumption group and handles its relationship with the network operator.
Official source (opens in a new tab)DGEG
Official registration, licensing and certification procedures.
Official source (opens in a new tab)ERSE
Regulates commercial relationships, metering and sharing rules.
Official source (opens in a new tab)Network operator
Assesses network and meter arrangements and implements the sharing process.
Official source (opens in a new tab)