"We are not announcing closure or an end of life date. The plants should continue to operate while they are profitable. We are already working on alternatives [...]. So that, when the time comes, we can see what the evolution of assets is", Rui Teixeira said, who was speaking to journalists in Lisbon.

EDP said that the loss of competitiveness of coal-fired power plants will have an extraordinary cost of €300 million and a negative impact on the 2019 results of €200 million.

According to the power company, the extraordinary cost of coal-fired power stations is the result of the acceleration of the energy transition process throughout 2019, which led to the deterioration of their profitability.

"The competitiveness of these assets is penalised by the increase in the price of CO2 emission permits, the reduction in gas prices, as well as the prospect of an acceleration in the growth of installed renewable energy capacity," the communiqué sent to the Securities Market Commission (CMVM) said.

EDP owns three coal-fired power stations, Sines in Portugal and two in Spain.

In his speech in October, Prime Minister António Costa said that his new government is prepared to close the Sines power plant in September 2023.

In the Socialist Party electoral programme, the timetable for the closure of the Sines coal-fired power station was between 2025 and 2030.