Transition Point

Pilot project to tackle energy poverty in Portugal

Portugal is one of the European countries with the highest levels of energy poverty, which poses a serious risk to the well-being of communities.

To speed up the country’s just energy transition, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation launched the Transition Point, a proximity initiative implemented at municipal and parish level to test an innovative model to help families improve the energy performance of their homes.

The goal is to provide residents with information on how they can improve the thermal comfort of their homes – an urgent need in Portugal, which is currently the 5th country in Europe at greatest risk of energy poverty.

The first phase involves implementing the Transition Point pilot project in the district of Setúbal, in partnership with ENA – Energy and Environment Agency of Arrábida, CENSE – Center for Research in Environment and Sustainability (FCT-NOVA) and RNAE – Association of Energy and Environment Agencies (National Network), and with the collaboration of the Setúbal City Council, Palmela City Council and the Parish Councils of the respective municipalities.

Inability or difficulty to maintain an adequate level of essential energy services at home (services that ensure basic needs in citizens' daily lives, such as the supply of electricity and gas), due to a combination of several factors such as low incomes, low energy performance of homes and high energy costs, among others.

Those who live without thermal comfort: very cold homes in the winter or very hot homes in the summer, with infiltrations, humidity, or indoor air quality problems. The elderly and children are among the most affected demographic groups. Energy poverty has serious repercussions on your physical and mental health.

Portugal is one of the countries with the highest levels of energy poverty in the European Union – between 1.9 and 3 million Portuguese are affected. The country also has one of the highest rates of excess winter mortality in the region, and this is directly associated with the low quality of Portuguese housing.

The late creation of legislation on the introduction of thermal requirements in buildings contributed to the low level of thermal insulation of the housing stock and its poor energy performance;
Imbalance between low incomes and high energy prices. In Portugal, the burden of taxes on electricity and gas bills is one of the highest in the European Union;
Unsuitable levels of energy services, leading to situations of energy under-consumption;
Inefficient heating and cooling devices.

How does the Transition Point work?

The Transition Point is a one-stop-shop that offers several services at the same location. It operates in a reused shipping container and can be moved between municipalities according to the project’s needs. To check the current location and opening hours of the Transition Point one-stop-shop, check the website of ENA – Agência de Energia e Ambiente da Arrábida which is responsible for its operation in the district of Setúbal.

With assistance from a qualified expert, the Transition Point provides the following services to local populations:

advice on electricity and gas invoices;
information and advice on obtaining financing for the energy renovation of homes and assistance in completing application forms;
free home energy assessments.

The Transition Point one-stop-shop can be visited without appointment, within its opening hours, to request information and advice on invoices and forms of financing.

The “Transition Agents”

One of the services provided by the Transition Point is the free energy assessment of homes by qualified agents. This analysis allows the identification of improvement opportunities that will serve as a basis for further advice.

The evaluations must be scheduled in person or via telephone or email, and are conducted by Transition Agents – citizens selected from the local community, in collaboration with the City Councils/Parish Councils, and trained specifically for this project.

E-mail: [email protected]
Phone/Whatsapp: 925 260 049

INDICATORS

1.9 million Portuguese do not have the capacity to keep their homes adequately heated. Portugal is the fourth country in the European Union with the highest percentage of the population affected by this problem.

(INE, 2021)
3.7 million Portuguese live in too hot housing in the summer. In 2012, Portugal was the second country in the European Union with the highest percentage of the population affected by this problem.

(Eurostat, 2012)
2.6 million Portuguese live in dwellings with problems of infiltrations, humidity or rotting elements. Portugal is the second country in the European Union with the highest percentage of the population affected by this problem.

(EUSILC, 2021)
Portugal is the country of the European Union with the most children at high risk of living in unhealthy homes (51%).

(Healthy Homes Barometer, 2019)
In Portugal, electricity and gas prices (taxes included) are 12% and 41% higher than the European average respectively.

(Eurostat, 2021)
About 68% of certified homes have low energy efficiency (the equivalent of class C or lower).

(SCE, 2022)

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is responsible for the funding and management of the Transition Point project.

Partners

Energy and Environment Agency of Arrábida: responsible for the implementation and operationalization of the project on the ground.

ENA is a non-profit association made up of public and private entities and citizens, created in 2006 by the municipalities of Setúbal, Palmela and Sesimbra, under the Intelligent Energy Europe Program. It promotes energy efficiency, sustainability and good environmental practices in the Territory of Arrábida in order to make the transition to Sustainable Development in areas such as: PLANNING (Electric Mobility Plan, Local Climate Change Adaptation Plans and Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans under the Covenant of Mayors); CIRCULAR ECONOMY (recycling of food oil used for biodiesel production); CAPACITY BUILDING (of cities in the design of roadmaps for climate neutrality and through tools to support decision-making in relation to energy efficiency in public buildings); AWARENESS (community involvement in behavioral change through pedagogical tools); and TECHNICAL AREA (support in energy management, in the design of energy-efficient infrastructures, audits and implementation of energy management systems).

Responsible for the scientific monitoring of the project.

CENSE is a center of interdisciplinary excellence and advanced education in sustainability, being inserted in the NOVA School of Science and Technology of NOVA University of Lisbon. The activities carried out at CENSE follow five fundamental principles: working for a sustainable future; interdisciplinary research; methodological pluralism; freedom of investigation; promoting a scientific approach linked to society. CENSE explores new paths for the construction of a sustainable society in the areas of ecological economy and environmental management; energy and climate; bioresources and green technologies, computing for sustainability and water sanitation and sustainable waste recovery. As a scientifically recognized center, it integrates international and national networks and produces knowledge that informs multi-scale policy decisions, promoting the co-creation of solutions with society. Since 2016, it has been promoting research and support to local energy poverty entities, currently part of the EU Energy Poverty Advisory HUB coordination team.

Responsible for identifying programs and funding instruments applicable to the target audience of the project.

RNAE is a private, non-profit association created in 2010, whose main objective is to promote the participation of the 21 Energy and Environment Agencies existing in Portugal in wide-ranging projects, as well as to develop partnerships in the following areas of intervention: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energies, Alternative Fuels, Sustainable Mobility, Waste Recovery, Climate Change and Combating Energy Poverty. The geographical area covered by RNAE is coincident with that of the Energy and Environment Agencies (about 66% of the municipalities of Portugal), noting that of the 308 municipalities in Portugal, 203 are covered by Energy and Environment Agencies.

The main areas of operation of RNAE are in agreement with those of the Energy and Environment Agencies (municipal and regional, which voluntarily decided to join this cooperation network), namely, the promotion of the rational use of energy and the use of renewable energy sources, the development of projects and activities with a view to the use of renewable energies, the protection and valorization of the environment and the dynamic of training, awareness and training actions of various local agents in these themes.