The first phase of EDP's privatisation took place in June 1997, with the transfer of 179,960,000 shares, representing 29.99% of EDP's capital (at the time comprising 600 billion shares with a nominal value of PTE 1,000) and was approved in accordance with the provisions of Decreto-Lei nº 78-A/97 de 7 de Abril.

The operation consisted of a combined share offering, as follows: (i) a Public Offering in the national market for small investors, the general public, bondholders and EDP employees; (ii) a Direct Sale to Institutional Investors that were required to later place the shares namely in international markets.

The terms of this initial re-privatisation phase were defined by Resoluções do Conselho de Ministros nºs 68/97, 82/97 e 95/97.

Of the 179,960,000 shares sold, 2,388,000 were retained as loyalty premiums (1 share for every 25 shares purchased and secured for longer than a year by small shareholders, emigrants and EDP employees), with a total of 1,307,261 shares attributed on 16 June 1998.