The Loulé Energia service launched on January 11th at Espaço Cidadão in Loulé, providing residents of this municipality with information and support on energy efficiency.
The Counter aims to raise awareness about the importance of energy efficiency, but also to offer guidance on available support solutions for citizens and businesses seeking to reduce their environmental impact, improve their thermal comfort, and simultaneously pay less on their energy bills.
This service constituted another asset of the Citizen Space, 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 ceremony, Councilman Carlos Carmo introduced the service. When visiting the Counter, residents can benefit from personalized guidance from three technicians trained by AREAL – the 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 act as a "technical facilitator" and, once a week, will assist those interested, for example, in applying for financial support mechanisms such as the Environmental Fund's "Efficiency Voucher."
At a later stage, any resident who wants to make changes to their home will also receive technical advice to help them become more efficient in terms of energy consumption and technical comfort.
This initiative is part of the Municipality of Loulé's climate action policy, particularly in terms of mitigation, as highlighted by Lídia Terra, Head of the Climate Action and Circular Economy Division. "The fight against climate change must be urgent, and this service is fully aligned with the goal of reducing CO2 emissions."2, through support provided to citizens related to the fight against energy poverty”, he considered.
To address the complexity of applications, this service also has all the necessary conditions to help citizens overcome any challenges they encounter, as explained by Amélia Carmo, coordinator of Espaço Cidadão. "Although we already have energy-related services through the agreement with AMA – the Administrative Modernization Agency, we felt this was the ideal location for this Counter. This is especially true because we receive an average of 30 calls per day at this location. The goal now is to raise awareness and inform people about this service," she 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 with the Municipality of Loulé over the years. He added: "We can only save energy and reduce emissions—that is, the entire goal the country has—if this is passed on to citizens. It's important for citizens to have information because they are the ones who make the difference," he noted.
The president of the Municipality, Vítor Aleixo, highlighted the partnership with AREAL and its know-how which will help provide advice on reducing energy bills, but also help achieve the European Union's grand design. "Citizens need to be helped to make small changes at home to use much less energy. They pay less on their bills, and at home, in the winter, they are comfortable, and in the summer, they are also cooler. Often, the biggest challenge for citizens is filling out 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 homes—which cause many problems—to take advantage of opportunities and replace windows or apply cladding to the exterior of their apartments to improve thermal comfort inside. I would like Loulé to be a municipality at the forefront of the country in seizing this opportunity!" It should be noted that the Energy Counter is located at Espaço Cidadão, located at Rua 1º de Dezembro, 8100-615 Loulé. For more information, call 2894 00840 or email espaco.cidadao@cm-loule.pt
