The Government of Portugal has announced the creation of a new financial mechanism to support energy efficiency interventions in homes, aiming to reduce consumption, improve thermal comfort, and combat energy poverty.
The measure, presented in a joint statement from the Ministries of Finance, Economy and Territorial Cohesion, and Environment and Energy, will be financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and managed by Banco PortuguĂŞs de Fomento (BPF), with technical support from the Climate Action and Energy Agency (APC).
The mechanism covers the entire national territory (mainland), the Azores and Madeira, and provides for the granting of repayable loans for works such as thermal insulation, installation of heat pumps, replacement of windows, shading systems, bioclimatic solutions (such as green roofs), renewable air conditioning, energy production for self-consumption, mechanical ventilation, water efficiency measures, audits and energy certification.
Individuals, tenants with the owner’s authorisation, municipalities, municipal housing companies, cooperatives, IPSS (Private Institutions of Social Solidarity in Portugal), residents’ associations, and other housing or social entities are eligible.
According to the Government, “in the case of families included in the 1st and 4th income brackets, it is not necessary to present an energy certificate before applying.”
The Climate Agency and Banco Portuguese de Fomento will define the rules for the operationalisation of the programme, ensuring its governance, dissemination, monitoring, reporting and articulation with other national and European support lines.
Access to the credit line will be made through the participating financial institutions, under the terms to be defined by Banco Portuguese de Fomento.
The Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, said that this initiative represents “another example of the role of Banco de Fomento in boosting and modernising the national economy, both at the level of companies, but also of families.”
The Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Castro Almeida, highlighted that “this new line puts European funds at the service of the well-being of families and those who need it most,” stressing that the measure contributes to the energy transition and to “more sustainable and lower cost” housing.
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, said that “Portugal has taken very significant steps in the fight against energy poverty, now recognised by the European Commission. Using this new financial mechanism, we take a decisive step so families can reduce consumption, lower their energy bills and live in more energy-efficient homes.”
The design of the instrument was based on a study by the National Observatory of Energy Poverty (ONPE-PT), released in May, which characterised the situation of vulnerable families and allowed the typologies of intervention to be adjusted to the real needs of the territory.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
