The cities of the future and energy poverty were the two central themes that marked the Energy and Territory Meeting, whose 3rd edition took place in Covilhã, in the Great Auditorium of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Beira Interior (UBI) , the afternoon of October 9. Organized by E-REDES and the Association of Energy and Environment Agencies (RNAE), it included the participation of the vice-rector of the local Academy, the president of the Covilhã City Council and experts in the areas of energy, electric mobility, Community Energy and Consumption, as well as those responsible for the Energy Agencies and municipal executives. The debate model was developed through individual interventions and two round tables moderated by João Miguel Santos, host of Rádio Observador. The event is added to the previous ones held in Viseu and Évora.

“The green industry is an opportunity for the country”

The vice-rector of the UBI, José Pascua Marques, inaugurates the event, beginning by highlighting that we have grown with the increase in energy consumption, highlighting that there has always been a correlation between energy consumption and the growth of the Gross Domestic Product. (GDP).

Vítor Pereira also takes the opportunity to file a complaint: the municipalities have requested financial compensation from the Environmental Fund, but it would be important to involve the first parks installed. “This is because the respective Decree-Law is after the license of the first solar parks, and that is not fair. We hope that the Government corrects this situation.”

It is concluded that it is necessary to balance energy development plans with the territorial development policy, and to attract new reproductive investments in the region it is necessary to include the potential of renewable energies as an attraction factor. At the beginning of October, the Covilhã city council approved a rate reduction for companies with more than 50% renewable energy consumption and aims to encourage the use of this competitive factor. It also states that the creation of Energy Communities can contribute to fair electricity production.

On the other hand, the consultant affirms that Portugal is not interested in exporting electricity, but in bringing green industries to the country. It anticipates that by 2030 there will be 10 times more photovoltaic energy (the equivalent of a nuclear power plant), increasing production from five thousand MW to 20 thousand MW, which will cause a drop in prices. defend the repowering of wind farms, hybridization, and also investment in networks, along with increasing the capacity of dams. António Vidigal takes the opportunity to mention the importance of returning car electricity to the grid and what projects offshoresuch as WindFloat (a technology that harnesses the potential of offshore wind to generate energy), must move more slowly, otherwise the average price of electricity will increase. He concludes that nuclear energy should not be a priority.

“The path to decarbonization passes through all municipalities”

The first round table – “Cities of the Future” – was made up of Miguel Macías Sequeira, climate researcher; Rui Dinis, project director; Luís Tiago Ferreira, smart cities specialist at E-REDES; and Rui Frazão, member of the scientific council of the General Directorate of Energy and Geology (DGEG).

Rui Frazão highlights that for the mobilization of cities, a first effort by the authorities to create infrastructure is mandatory. The role of the DGEG has been to promote more research in Portugal, as well as promoting debate between Energy Associations and Renewable Energy Communities. The work of universities must be similar, trying to understand the difficulties of the population. It asks them to develop platforms to shorten the licenses of the Energy Communities, promoting, to this end, collaboration with the Energy Agency (ADENE) in the promotion of awareness courses.

Macías Sequeira concludes that for consumers, day-to-day concerns are more important than the energy transition, and the main objective is to benefit in terms of price. Luís Tiago Ferreira corroborates the idea by stating that “price is an important pillar so that people feel that the transition is fair.” He adds that today people’s narrative is different when they see that renewable energies have brought them well-being. Rui Dinis ends by stating that long-term commitments pay off and spoke of a just transition in Lisbon with the single social tariff, with the possibility that the Energy Communities can distribute surpluses to families with a social tariff.

“There are more than 90 million consumers in a situation of energy poverty”

The panel on “Energy Poverty” included the participation of Paulo Mendonça, Division Head of the Seia City Council; Susana Camacho, general director of S.Energia (Regional Energy Agency, integrated into the RNAE); António Marques, director of the Economics program at the UBI/EU; and also Rita Gomes Varela, technical specialist in Energy Transition at ADENE.

The manager warns that improving thermal comfort implies an increase in value and that awareness campaigns are necessary for efficient work. Remember that the “+Near Transition Point”, in the municipality of Barreiro, is a place dedicated to improving the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of homes. This project is financed by the Energy Poverty Adviser Hub (EPAH), under the responsibility of the EU, and promoted in Portugal by RNAE and S.Energia. The Transition Point provides the services of a qualified technician free of charge, and provides advice on electricity and gas bills, information on available financing, as well as free energy assessments of homes.

It highlights that more and more consumers are excluded and that “in the EU there are more than 90 million consumers in a situation of energy poverty.” It defends the preservation of ecosystems by empowering consumers, since they cannot benefit from the energy transition and, for the market, this model cannot be seen as another source of income. In terms of mobility, he states that individual transportation is critical and the consumer still does not understand the usefulness of the energy transition. It also points out the role of Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS) in the fair energy transition by learning about people’s cases, being able to raise awareness about collective self-consumption and Energy Communities.

Rita Varela, from ADENE, defends a strategy to combat energy poverty with literacy and the existence of physical spaces to reach citizens, linking projects with health and IPSS to identify people with these types of needs. It is concluded that for a fair energy transition there must be consumer communities with greater consumption for families in that situation. António Vidigal affirms that water is one of the sectors with the greatest potential to achieve efficiency, but there is a general lack of knowledge, giving as an example efficient heat pumps and the ability to produce energy with water. To conclude, he states that the granting of subsidies is not efficient in reversing situations of energy poverty, but rather the creation of measures that change behavior, specifically with the use of tariffs to create discipline.

“The country has the highest level of electrification”

At the end of the event, Carlos Querido Santos, president of the RNAE board of directors, affirms that we are all part of the solution for the energy transition, including self-consumption. He defends the advantage of community support that allows the spread of literacy and discussion in schools. The Energy Agencies are in the territory with dozens of technicians, having announced the upcoming creation of the Dão de Energía Agency. These entities have the advantage of agility and speed of work, having praised the agreements of the DGEG with the Environmental Fund. For its part, the RNAE can participate in sectoral working groups to attract private investment. The first major public lighting project in Covilhã is an example. Regarding customer service, he gives the example of the “Energy Savings Store” in Seia, while in Sabugueiro there is a home monitoring team. To obtain the Efficiency Bonus, they highlight that there is an administrative function in the Parish Councils to validate the applications, connect the people who are entitled to the bonus and advise on better energy efficiency.

Ferrari Careto highlights that, when talking about the need to empower consumers, we must move from the focus on subsidies to the focus on information. The installation of smart meters was the largest logistics operation in the country after COVID and vaccination, with an average of 25 thousand meters installed each week, which allows data collection to be structured every 15 minutes. A protocol was signed with the UBI for the disclosure of anonymous data, for data protection reasons. In mid-October, the company delivered a proposal with the investment plan for the National Distribution Network (medium/high voltage) for the period 2026-2030. This is a structuring document for the development of territories and territorial cohesion and will be subject to public consultation for comments. He concludes by stating that this will be the critical piece for investment in the country.