The Municipalities of Vila Pouca de Aguiar and Alfândega da Fé, through their mayors Ana Rita Dias and Eduardo Tavares respectively, issued an official statement denouncing that energy concessionaires owe 348 million euros to the Trás-os-Montes region. According to the document, the region is rich in natural resources for renewable energy production, with a taxable asset value exceeding 15 billion euros.
The statement details that the annual IMI (municipal property tax) revenue, at the minimum rate of 0.30%, would be around 45 million euros. In 2025, the revenue obtained by the three largest energy concessionaires from the exploitation of dams in the region was 941.8 million euros, plus over 135 million euros from wind and photovoltaic parks. A 5% tax on these revenues would result in an additional 53.5 million euros for the municipalities.
The text also mentions that the sale of six EDP dams to the group led by ENGIE, for approximately 2.2 billion euros, generated taxes such as stamp duty and IMT amounting to over 250 million euros, revenue intended for ten municipalities in Trás-os-Montes. In the last five years, Movhera has invoiced around 2.02 billion euros from six dams in the Douro Internacional, Baixo Sabor, and Foz Tua.
The concessionaires refuse to pay the amount due, resorting to the courts. EDP, Movhera, and Iberdrola have lost lawsuits related to IMI at the administrative and fiscal court of Mirandela and do not pay the rents due under DL 424/83, according to an opinion from the Attorney General's Office. Despite a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court questioning CIMI valuation norms, the local authorities are confident in the prevalence of law and common sense for a "historic and just victory".
