Spain 
Italy 
Greece 
€200 Million Will Be Made Available to Warm Up Portuguese Homes
13 April 2018
The Casa Eficiente program – which was launched several years ago – has two main objectives: environmental (improving the efficiency of Portugal’s housing stock) and economic (boosting the construction industry and creating jobs).
The program’s principles, the amount involved, and its objectives were set forth a long time ago in the Government Program and the National Reform Plan. However, the program’s official inauguration only incurred today, with the presence of two ministers (Environment and Planning), the president of the Order of Engineers, the president of the Portuguese Construction and Real Estate Confederation (CPCI) and the vice president of the European Investment Bank.
It is time, then, for the €200 million in investments that will support rehabilitation works that are designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings to finally begin to be disbursed. The funds will support, for example, the many Portuguese families who complain about the cold in their homes. The money will also boost civil construction, in line with the Portuguese government’s economic rationale for the measure, which aims to boost the construction industry and job creation.
The other objective is environmental in nature, aiming to improve the energy efficiency of Portugal’s housing stock. The aim to improve energy efficiency is common to the entire European Union, and Community funding lines naturally support such investments. Also, Portugal is one of the countries where the population has the greatest problems with a lack of heat in their homes. A survey late last year by the environmental association Quercus revealed that nine in ten Portuguese have homes which they consider to be thermally inadequate. According to the survey, of the 74% of Portuguese who consider their homes cold, 37% say their homes are uninsulated, while 35% responded that they do not even know whether their homes are insulated or not. However, Casa Eficiente chose to seek funding from the European Investment Bank (EIB), rather than Portugal 2020.
The EIB allocated €100 million, in addition to another €100 million in financing from three Portuguese banks that are participating in the program: CGD, which is providing €60 million, Millennium BCP and Novo Banco, with 20 million euros each.
While programs and financial instruments that support urban rehabilitation works already exist, they all had specific criteria such as geographic location defined by the respective municipalities. Casa Eficiente is different in that it covers the whole of Portugal, both on the continent and in the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.
The loans aim to reduce the energy costs associated with heating and air-conditioning, while also improving water efficiency as well as urban waste management. The loans are expected to be extended “under competitive conditions,” and the interest rates that will be charged are to be announced later today.
How to apply?
Casa Eficiente aims to support works that focus on buildings themselves (walls, roofs and windows, for example) and their systems (lighting systems, ventilation, domestic hot water production, building networks, waste removal). The funds will reach the market through financing lines that can be contracted from the three banks that have joined the program – CGD, Millennium BCP and Novo Banco.
The system is designed for simple and universal access. CPCI designed the website (https://casaeficiente2020.pt/), where interested parties can simulate applications.
Candidates must list the desired works, whether they are construction expenses or other engineering works. If the goal is to acquire equipment, cost estimates must be supplied from a pre-qualified company (a list of which are provided on the website), thereby obtaining a “Casa Eficiente 2020” Declaration. The declaration must be submitted to a participating bank, together with a loan application.
According to the regulations that are already available on the website, works may relate to existing buildings or existing units (including the common parts of these buildings), provided they are used as collective or single-family housing. Non-residential areas may only benefit in cases where they do not represent more than half of the building’s construction area, and where the works target the building as a whole. The replacement of existing appliances with more efficient models is also eligible provided that their expenditure does not exceed 15% of the total eligible investment amount of the operation.
Original Story: Público – Luísa Pinto
Translation: Richard Turner