An Analysis of the Genesis and Structuring of the Electricity Sector in Portugal: Logics, Agents and Transformations in the Field

In the context of the ongoing energy transition, the European Union is advocating for a reconfiguration of national electricity sectors towards greater decentralization and democratization, challenging established market dynamics. Following the Paris Agreement (2015), the European legislative package, known as "Clean Energy for All Europeans," was introduced to facilitate the implementation of legislation that would streamline the establishment and advancement of Energy Communities (ECs). These ECs enable consumers' involvement in the electricity sector, particularly in producing, consuming, and sharing electricity. They may take various legal forms, including collective self-consumption, renewable energy communities, and citizens' energy communities. Sociological analyses have focused on examining the potential opportunities and challenges associated with the establishment and progression of these alternative economic initiatives. However, gaining insight into the current social and institutional dynamics of the electricity sector, which either favor or hinder the expansion of ECs, requires a socio-historical contextualization of the sector itself to understand the existing power relations.

In this communication, developed under a doctoral fellowship funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), we present an analysis of the restructuring of the Portuguese electricity sector to discuss how institutions and social actors may enable the energy democracy movement to transform the electricity market(s). Our analysis reflects on the sector's emergence and development in light of the concept and theories of “social fields”, based on documentary analysis and interviews with specialists. From a sociological perspective, the electricity sector can be conceptualized as an economic field, comprising a complex network of institutions, norms, and agents that interact and establish relationships of power and influence, conflict, and alliance.