Loulé already has an Energy Desk that will help residents with information and support on energy efficiency.
The service opened this Thursday, January 11th, at Espaço Cidadão.
The Counter «intends to promote awareness about the importance of energy efficiency, but also to offer guidance on available support solutions for citizens and companies seeking to reduce their environmental impact, improve their thermal comfort and, at the same time, pay less in your energy bill», says the Loulé Chamber.
This service is «another feature of Espaço Cidadão, providing information on efficient practices for the use of energy, renewable technologies and information to support the preparation of applications for financing programs on energy efficiency».
During the inaugural moment, councilor Carlos Carmo presented this service.
Therefore, when visiting the Branch, residents receive personalized guidance from three technicians who received training provided by AREAL – Algarve Regional Energy and Environment Agency.
Through an established partnership, this entity, now located in one of the towers of the Loulé Municipal Market, will be a “technical facilitator” and will, once a week, provide assistance to anyone interested, for example, in making an application for the financial mechanisms of support such as the Environmental Fund’s “Efficiency Voucher”.
At a later stage, any resident who wants to carry out interventions in their home will also have technical advice, to be more efficient in terms of the energy they consume and in terms of technical comfort.
This initiative is part of the municipal climate action policy of the Municipality of Loulé, particularly in terms of mitigation, as highlighted by the head of the Climate Action and Circular Economy Division Lídia Terra. «
«The fight against climate change must be urgent, and this service is completely aligned with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions, through support provided to citizens related to the fight against energy poverty», he considered.
To deal with the complexity of applications, this service also meets all the conditions to help citizens overcome the difficulties encountered, as explained by Amélia Carmo, coordinator of Espaço Cidadão.
«Although we already have services related to Energy, through the protocol signed with AMA – Administrative Modernization Agency, we felt that this was the ideal place to host this Branch. Because we have, on average, 30 appointments per day in this space. The objective now is to raise awareness and inform people that this service exists,” he explained.
António Mortal, head of AREAL, an agency that has existed in the region for 24 years, spoke of the “good collaboration” he has had over the years with the Municipality of Loulé.
And he added: «we can only save energy and reduce emissions, that is, all the goals that the country has, if this is passed on to its citizens. It is important that citizens have information because they are the ones who make the difference,” she noted.
The president of the municipality Vítor Aleixo highlighted the partnership with AREAL and its know-how that will help to advise on reducing energy bills, but also to achieve the great goal of the European Union.
«Citizens must be helped to make small changes at home to use much less energy. They pay less on the bill and, at home, in winter, they are comfortable, and in summer they are also cooler. Often the biggest difficulty for citizens is filling out the application forms… This organization is here to help people», he reiterated.
At the end of the session, the mayor expressed a wish: «I would like many people in Loulé who live in cold houses – which brings many problems – to be able to take advantage of the opportunities and change windows or apply coatings to the exterior of the apartments to provide greater thermal comfort in the interior. I would like Loulé to be a leading municipality in the country in using this opportunity!».
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