The minister, speaking during the discussion of next year’s State Budget, stated that the request for reinforcement was made as part of the reprogramming of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
Maria da Graça Carvalho had previously announced at the beginning of the month that she would request an enhancement of the program. On October 6, the government announced that the E-Lar program, which aims to replace gas equipment with electrical devices in homes, received around 40,000 applications within six days, exhausting the planned allocation of 30 million euros.
The program was highlighted on the Environmental Fund’s website, part of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, with applications opening on September 30 and closing less than a week later.
E-Lar aims to improve thermal comfort in homes and support families in purchasing efficient equipment and electrifying energy consumption.
In the budget discussion, the minister also recalled that, within the scope of the reprogramming of the Sustainable Operational Program, there was a substantial increase in funding for water, with 344 million euros allocated for water resilience.
Regarding water issues, the minister mentioned that the government decided to proceed with the construction of the Sines desalination plant, noting that the construction of the Albufeira desalination plant will begin next month.
