The E_lar Program – Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort, announced by the Ministry of Environment, is about to start and intends to facilitate Portuguese families the purchase of more efficient appliances, especially those who need it most.
This initiative should have pulled out in June, but eventually suffered a slight delay. The justification, advanced to News to Minute by the Source of the Ministry of Environment, is the fact that the climate agency is currently focused on the conclusion of the evaluation and payment of applications for the most sustainable buildings support program (PAES 2023).
According to the government, cited by the same organ, “this effort is very close to being completed.” 81,069 candidatures were submitted to PAES, of which 77,948 were considered valid, and about 54 million euros for appliances were already paid. This value corresponds to more than 85% of the evaluated applications.
This performance was possible due to the recent reorganization of the Environmental Fund, with the creation of the climate agency, and the reinforcement of technical teams through collaboration with academic institutions such as the New University of Lisbon, the Instituto Superior Technical (University of Lisbon) and the Viana do Castelo Polytechnic Institute. According to the same source, efficiency also increased thanks to the use of new digital evaluation support tools, developed in partnership with INESC-ID.
Who is intended for support e_lar?
E_lar measure aims to promote energy efficiency in housing, contributing to improve thermal comfort by replacing old or gas -fed home appliances with more efficient and sustainable electrical equipment.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, this support is intended exclusively for beneficiaries of the social energy tariff or minimum social benefits. With this, it is intended to ensure that support reaches directly to families in greater situation of economic and social vulnerability.
The program of access to the program will be simple and fast, with the direct support of the spaces distributed throughout the country, to facilitate the application process.
What equipment covered?
They will be eligible to support electrical equipment that has energy class to or higher. Replacement should be done by old, gas or low energy efficiency equipment.
Each beneficiary will be entitled to a maximum ceiling of financial support, but without a fixed limit regarding the number of equipment it can replace, provided that it meets the criteria established by the program.
Strict checking and tight control
To ensure the correct use of the funds, the program will adopt robust management and control mechanisms, including face -to -face audits and mechanisms for the recovery of improperly attributed amounts. This approach follows the management and control model applied to the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
Part of a wider program
The E_LAR program is part of the widest E_lar package – sustainable neighborhoods, approved by the European Commission and which provides for a global investment of over 100 million euros.
The initiative also anticipates the creation of the European mechanism that provides investments of about 1.6 billion euros by 2030, intended to protect the most vulnerable families during the energy transition process.
Government admits delay, but guarantees speed
The delay verified in the start of the initiative does not worry the ministry protected by Maria da Graça Carvalho, which underlines that the current priority involves ensuring that previous applications are complete quickly, thus releasing operational capacity to properly manage the E_LAR program.
According to the tutelage, the official start of E_Lar is expected to “very soon”, with the exact date to be ultimately, and interested parties should remain aware of official updates.
The central objective, according to the ministry, is to ensure that the most vulnerable Portuguese families can reduce the costs associated with energy by renewing domestic equipment, and significantly improve their thermal comfort and well-being.
With summer already taking place and winter on the horizon, this support for appliances promises to be especially useful at a time when energy expenses are one of the main concerns of Portuguese families.
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