In order to increase its presence in the Portuguese electricity market, Spanish gas and electricity company Union Fenosa plans to look for strategic alliances with local companies, Thomson Financial quotes the Jornal de Negocios as saying, which cited the company's director, Luis Diaz Lopez.

The report quoted Mr Lopez as saying that the company is very keen on participating in a forthcoming public tender for 1,100MW of hydro energy.

Stating that the firm is not in negotiations with any particular company, Mr Lopez confirmed that Union Fenosa is analyzing partnerships for hydro projects in Portugal, adding that the company is also interested in potential acquisitions.

According to Thompson Financial, Jornal de Negocios quoted Mr Lopez as saying: Even though the free market is facing a crisis we are in Portugal for the long run. Our policy is to stay for a long time in Portugal.