Vale of Efficiency support increases to €3900 (and employers are eligible)

The Portuguese government announced a review of the Vale Eficiência program, which supports energy efficiency and targets economically vulnerable households wishing to replace doors and windows or install insulation on walls and roofs, as well as other measures to save energy and improve thermal comfort in homes.

The new version of the program contains a number of changes, including a significant increase in the amount of support and expansion of the range of potential recipients. In the previous version of the program, each support voucher was valued at 1,300 euros and was provided only to property owners. The new approach increases the maximum amount of support to €3900 and each recipient can receive up to three vouchers, allowing for multiple interventions in different aspects of housing. These changes aim to encourage more households to take effective measures to improve thermal comfort and save energy.

In addition, tenants can now also qualify for this support, which was not available previously.

Ana Fontur Goveia, Secretary of State for Energy, has already expressed the need to improve the program, especially as the original 2021 version received only 22,950 applications. The government maintains the goal of issuing 100,000 checks by 2025, with a budget of 104 million euros for this second phase.

The application process will begin on November 20 and will be available both at district reception centers and on the Environment Fund platform. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Action (MAAC) told the newspaper that "a team of facilitators is being set up to support the submission of applications for support (administrative facilitators) and applications for measures (technical facilitators)" and that "pre-payment of 20% [of the amount] to providers with voucher(s) retention" will be ensured.