Portuguese Plan for Promoting Efficiency of Electricity end-use: policy, methodology and consumer participation

Abstract

The Portuguese Electricity Demand-Side Efficiency Promotion Plan (PPEC) is a voluntary financial mechanism, under which several entities, among them electric utilities, may submit proposals of measures that contribute to the reduction of electricity consumption or load management. PPEC is of the schemes that provide financial support to the implementation of measures whose results contribute to the commitments made under the Portuguese National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP). In the first edition of the PPEC only three energy services were addressed while in the most recent PPEC edition, the sixth, measures addressed nine energy services. Also, the participation of consumers and other agents in cost-sharing has increased, razing the investment in energy efficiency from other actors besides that from the program administrator. PPEC, although a voluntary mechanism, has proven to be a very competitive one, involving an increasing number of sectors of the economy, measures and addressed energy services.