During a meeting at the Assembly of the Republic today, PSD deputy to the Assembly, Paulo Neves, demanded that the Minister of the Environment and the Government of the Republic, include Madeiran as part of the Environmental Fund electricity discount scheme, saying that it was wrong to exclude those living in Madeira and Porto Santo, especially as social confinement has meant an increased demand for electricity.
Following his speech, the Minister for the Environment guaranteed that that consumers in Madeira and Porto Santo would be included, contrary to what had been announced by the Government of the Republic, and a 10% discount would be applied through the Environmental Fund.
In response to the question posed by Paulo Neves, the Minister for the Environment seemed to contradict his earlier statement by saying that this decision could only be taken by the Government of the Republic and, accordingly, he undertook to take it to the Council of Ministers, adding that there is €300,000 at their disposal in the Environmental Fund, and that if Madeira and Porto Santo wanted their slice of the pie all they had to do was ask.
Paulo Neves, while pleased with the decision, remains skeptical as he believes that the two islands should have been part of the initial plan, especially as part of the fund created by the Government of the Republic has been paid for by Madeiran/Porto Santense consumers.
Ideally, this should not be a blanket discount, but should be targeted at those who really need it, such as the financially disadvantaged, senior citizens and those with large families.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
