Team size: Three

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Among the projects currently under development, the Pego Project stands out: a hybrid renewable energy cluster integrating solar photovoltaic and wind power, complemented by Battery Energy Storage Systems, spanning five municipalities. 

The Legal and Corporate Affairs team in Portugal plays a pivotal role in supporting the Pego Project from a legal and corporate perspective. We provide day-to-day legal guidance and strategic support to the business and engineering teams, ensuring that all aspects of project development are legally sound. Our work includes ongoing legal advice – enhanced by external law firms when specialized expertise is required – and comprehensive support throughout the environmental, electrical, and urban planning licensing processes, which are critical for the successful implementation of the project. 

In addition, the team is responsible for negotiating, drafting, and managing a wide range of commercial, corporate, and regulatory agreements, contributing to risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, and the achievement of the project’s objectives. Our involvement ensures that legal considerations are fully integrated into every stage of project execution, reinforcing the company’s ability to deliver innovative and sustainable energy solutions.

How has the role of the legal function evolved within your organisation over recent years, and where do you see it adding the most strategic value today? 

Over recent years, the role of the legal function within the organisation has evolved significantly from a traditionally reactive and advisory role to a more proactive and strategic business partner. Today, legal is not only involved in mitigating risks and ensuring compliance, but also plays a key role in shaping business decisions, enabling growth, and supporting the execution of complex and capital-intensive projects, particularly in the renewable energy sector. 

In this context, the main mission of my team is to provide comprehensive legal and corporate support to the business lines operating in Portugal, ensuring the effective development of the Group’s energy generation and commercialisation activities. This includes delivering ongoing, forward-looking legal advice throughout all stages of renewable energy projects – from development and permitting to construction, operation, and commercialisation – as well as leading or supporting the negotiation, structuring, and management of a wide range of commercial, corporate, and regulatory agreements. 

Beyond traditional legal support, our role increasingly contributes to strategic decision-making by being closely embedded with the business and management teams. This involves advising on governance matters, corporate structuring, regulatory strategy, risk allocation and optimisation, as well as anticipating legal and regulatory developments that may impact the business. 

The legal function adds the most strategic value today by acting as an enabler of business objectives – facilitating transactions, unlocking project viability, and ensuring regulatory alignment in a fast-evolving energy landscape. Through a combination of legal expertise, business acumen, and close cross-functional collaboration, the role supports informed and balanced decision-making, enhances risk management capabilities, and ultimately contributes to the sustainable growth and long-term value creation of the Group.

Which recent regulatory or legislative change in Portugal has had the most significant impact on in‑house legal teams, and how have you adapted your approach in response? 

In recent years, several regulatory and legislative developments in Portugal have had a significant impact on in-house legal teams, particularly in the energy sector. Among the most relevant are the amendments to Decree-Law 15/2022, as well as changes to key frameworks governing project development, such as the RJUE, RJAIA, and Decree-Law 30-A/2022. These reforms have directly affected the development and permitting of renewable energy projects, requiring legal teams to adopt a more dynamic and anticipatory approach to regulatory compliance and project structuring. 

In parallel, within the electricity and gas commercialisation activities, the updates to ERSE regulations in 2023 represented another major development. These changes required a comprehensive review and adjustment of internal processes, contractual frameworks, and legal outputs to ensure full compliance with the revised regulatory standards. 

Beyond the energy sector, horizontal legislative changes have also had a strong impact. In particular, Decree-Law 125/2025, implementing the NIS 2 Directive in Portugal, significantly reinforced obligations in the field of cybersecurity, while Decree-Law 70/2025 introduced important amendments to the General Regime for the Prevention of Corruption. These developments have expanded the scope of legal oversight into areas such as compliance, risk management, and internal governance. 

In response to this evolving regulatory landscape, our approach has been centred on three key pillars. First, we carry out continuous monitoring and detailed legal analysis of new legislation to ensure its timely and consistent application across the Endesa Group companies in Portugal. Second, we work in close coordination with our counterpart teams in Spain to align interpretation and implementation strategies, ensuring a coherent approach at Group level. Finally, whenever necessary, we design and deliver targeted training sessions for employees to raise awareness and ensure effective operational compliance with new legal and regulatory requirements. 

Overall, these regulatory changes have reinforced the role of the in-house legal function as a strategic enabler, requiring not only legal expertise but also strong cross-functional collaboration and a proactive, business-oriented mindset.