2100 Portgás customers are already benefiting from more efficient water heaters

Portgás, a company fully owned by REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais, has received around 3,000 applications for the “Water Heater Exchange” programme and has just finalised the installation of all new planned devices (2,100). The programme is funded by the 7th edition of the Energy Consumption Efficiency Promotion Plan (PPEC – Plano de Promoção da Eficiência no Consumo de Energia), approved by the Portuguese Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE – Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos), and has ensured a 75% reimbursement for the exchange of inefficient water heaters for new, safer and more efficient devices.

Launched in April 2024, the “Water Heater Exchange” programme was initially aimed at beneficiaries of the natural gas social tariff. The 2nd phase, which started in August 2024, was open to all customers, although applications from beneficiaries of the social tariff continued to be prioritised.

Of the 2,100 customers whose applications were accepted in this campaign, 26% are beneficiaries of the natural gas social tariff. These financially vulnerable consumers had the unique opportunity, under very special conditions, of replacing their inefficient water heater installed more than eight years ago with new equipment. Of these 540 customers with a social tariff, 81 also received additional support from the municipalities of Porto (68 beneficiaries), Esposende (7), and Paços de Ferreira (6), which agreed to Portgás’s request and ensured the remaining 25% (€135 per unit).

This action contributes to the objectives of decarbonising society and enables these customers to have greater energy efficiency with the new water heaters, which comply with ErP 2015: they are more environmentally friendly, as they are appliances with very low emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2), limiting atmospheric pollution and the impact on the environment. The water heaters allow for a real reduction in the gas bill, which allows for a one-to-two-year return on investment of the amount paid by the customer (€135) and lower water consumption for the same type of use (the installation of the new water heater included the replacement of water reducers in the sink and shower, for more efficient water consumption).

About Portgás

Portgás is the public service concessionaire for gas distribution in 29 municipalities in the districts of Porto, Braga, and Viana do Castelo. Fully owned by REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais since October 2017, its main activity is the development and operation of the gas distribution network. This network, which is over 6,600 kilometres long, supplies more than 409,000 consumption points and allows commercialisers to supply gas to their customers and producers of gases of renewable origin (biomethane and hydrogen) to inject these gases into the distribution network.