The Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, Xanana Gusmão, has acknowledged that the government may be compelled to curtail the country’s electricity provision during overnight periods should hostilities in the Middle East persist.
Gusmão confirmed that he had already advised President Ramos-Horta of the potential for the government to introduce measures aimed at reducing the electricity supply between 11 pm and 5 am the following day, a move intended to conserve fuel.
In the interim, the government of Timor-Leste has formally approved the allocation of US$168.8 million. This funding is designated for the national electricity provider, Electricidade de Timor-Leste, to purchase 80 million litres of diesel, ensuring the continuation of energy supply and public sales until the end of 2026.
In a related move, the government has also decided to impose temporary limits on the maximum prices for the retail of various fuels, including petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, and liquefied petroleum gas. Additionally, Gusmão issued a call to all citizens to decrease their use of vehicles and to commute on foot whenever this is a possibility.
[See more: Timor-Leste hopes ‘world-class’ manganese find will attract global investors]
Beyond Timor-Leste, other Portuguese-speaking economies are also feeling the strain of the Iran war’s fuel shock.
In Portugal, pump prices have surged far faster than in neighbouring Spain, with one recent analysis estimating that diesel has risen by around 33 euro cents per litre since the conflict escalated, compared with less than 10 cents across the border.
Analysts there blame a mix of higher fuel taxes, limited refining capacity and relatively shallow storage, arguing that these structural weak spots leave Portuguese consumers disproportionately exposed whenever Middle Eastern supply routes are disrupted.
In Brazil, the impact is most visible in the country’s vast agribusiness sector, where a spike in global diesel prices is driving up transport and fertiliser costs during the harvest season. Commentators warn that higher fuel and input prices could feed through into food inflation, complicating economic management and adding political pressure ahead of next year’s presidential election.
