Here in Amendoeira, north of Loule, we have now had a smart electric meter fitted by Redes. There are three readings 181, 182 and 183 corresponding to (Google translation!) Empty hours, rush hours and full hours. I get the idea but what are the times of these hours so I can take advantage of them? Trying to contact either company to ask this simple question is impossible as Portuguese robots are just as thick as English ones! Does anyone know please? Thanks, Rob.

I am no expert in this - so others with direct experience may be able to offer better advice - but the charging regimes and schedule seem to be kept as complex as possible on purpose! However, it comes down to this:

Firstly, the different readings are of no actual use to the majority of customers, because they will be on a "simple" tariff, which charges the same cost for power throughout the day, regardles of timeslot. In order to take advantage of the tariff variations, you must contract for "bi-horario" (two billing timeslots) or "tri-horario" (three billing timeslots), which costs you more in up-front charges per day - so you need to calculate if the potential savings will outweigh the extra cost in the contract. Bi-horario allows you to make use of the low-charge timeslot (Vazio - usually overnight) but combines the Cheio (normal) and Ponto (peak) readings. Tri horario charges differently for each of these timeslots. OK so far?

Secondly, the the actual timeslots themselves are just as complex..... and there is a slight variation between "Winter" and "Summer" just to add to the complexity. You now have to choose between a weekly tariff (which makes Sundays off-peak all day, but also slightly changes the timeslots on Saturdays and puts an extra timeslot in for each weekday) and a daily tariff (which treats every day the same).

Then think of the number you first thought of, multiply it by.........

If you follow this link it will explain (in Portuguese, but Google is your friend) what tariff options are available. Then if you select "Quais são as opções horárias disponíveis?" (What hourly options are available?) it will eventually display a chart of the various timeslots for you to ponder.

When you make your way through all that, I think you'll understand why a helpdesk operator will avoid attempting to answer this "simple question"..... particularly if you want the info in English!!

Good luck.

Thanks very much for that. As we are on the simple tariff and I am a simple man I am happy to let sleeping dogs lie!

The different tariff schedules may well be worthwhile for people who can gear their life towards off-peak usage, but whether it compensates for a different contract charge is moot. I too remain on the simple tariff, because it seemed that the price differential between that and any of the other options made any potential savings too low to worry about, considering the loss of flexibility that it also imposes. In my case (many moons ago), I calculated I could save about 8 euros a month in the summer, when I was actually at the house all day..... but as soon as I factored in the lesser potential savings over winter and the fact I actually go away from time to time, the savings became negligible, or worse, it actually ended up costing more.

Sometimes the simple life is best.

I think you can replace 'seem to be' by 'are'
Also applies to the bill
And water bill
and pretty much everything else
KISS is the answer I think

Does the e redes site let you look at your electric meter in real time if you are away from home for a while? Thanks.

I just log into my Endesa profile and there is daily update for the consumption.

Not in real time - because the smart meter is not read in "real time", but transmits its data at a set time period.

But you can see the readings history on the e-redes site - and for me the latest is currently 19-04-2025 00:00:00 - so it allows you to check.

Is this on the e redes app which is only in Portuguese I believe?

Why would you expect the largest Portuguese power distribution company to have a site in anything but Portuguese? E-Redes serves 6.4m customers and there are under 50,000 Brits resident in Portugal..... a minority even amongst the foreign-born residents.

However, Google is your friend.......... translate works well enough.

I have given my info on the e redes app but they didn't ask for a password. Will they send me a password? Google translated where possible! Thanks.

Try to log on - if they ask for a password, say you've forgotten it.

I did that today and it was quite straightforward.

I also got several messages to my nominated email-ID - so check they haven't gone to your spam folder...... you will probably be required to confirm your email. etc.

Thanks very much I will try that.

I have registered on the site, the password page comes up but where is the option to say that you have forgotten it? Sorry to keep banging on but I am dizzy with it all!

The link is what I've circled in red.