Government follows Galp/Moeve operation and boosts execution of energy efficiency grants

The Government is closely monitoring the announced agreement between Galp and Moeve; the priority being to ensure the continuity of Sines refinery as a strategic national asset, protecting energy supply security, and setting the conditions of its development in the energy transition context.

During the parliamentary hearing, the Minister of Environment and Energy Maria da Graça Carvalho explained that the monitoring of this situation has been articulated between various ministries, involving the areas of Finance, Economy and Territorial Cohesion, and the Environment and Energy under the Prime Minister's coordination.

The Minister stressed that the Government is especially following the industrial component of this operation due to the Sines refinery's strategic relevance to the country.

"The Government's priority is to ensure that the Sines refinery continues to serve the national interest, ensuring security of supply, its economic sustainability, and the capacity to respond to the energy transition challenges", she claimed.

Maria da Graça Carvalho recalled that the refinery plays an essential role in the national energy resilience and noted the potential to lead the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), biofuels, and renewable hydrogen, boosting the Portuguese industry's competitiveness.

The Minister further reiterated that the Government will continue to monitor the operation's evolution in all its dimensions under the State's powers and the defence of national strategic interest.

Government simplifies grants for families and reinforces RRF execution

In a second parliamentary hearing on the Vale Eficiência [Efficiency Voucher] Programme, Maria da Graça Carvalho announced that the Government will move forward with a new assistance model for eligible applications that could not be funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

The new solution will be funded by the Environmental Fund and is based on a simpler model, inspired by the E_LAR [E_HOME] programme, allowing households to benefit directly from the assistance with the suppliers in the programme without having to first pay for the intervention.

"Our aim is to simplify processes, maintain rigour to ensure the grants get to the households that need them the most", the Minister stated.

Maria da Graça Carvalho highlighted that the Government ensured compliance with the RRF targets in this area and that the sums not used with the Vale Eficiência [Efficiency Voucher] were reallocated to other energy efficiency measures, avoiding the loss of European funding.

The Minister also stressed that the Ministry of Environment and Energy, via the Environmental Fund, has been executing practically all the RRF measures in the fields of energy, environment, and water, ensuring a strong capacity to materialise the investments.

Under the Vale Eficiência, E_LAR e PAE+S programmes alone, around 350 million euros were execut4ed, allowing 233 thousand households to be assisted in terms of improving their homes' energy efficiency and fighting energy poverty.

Maria da Graça Carvalho also recalled that this work was acknowledged by the European Commission as one of the best examples of RRF execution in the fight against energy poverty on an EU scale.