Since 2007, the Energy Efficiency Promotion Plan (Plano de Promoção da Eficiência no Consumo de Energia, PPEC) promotes actions to improve efficiency in electricity consumption through an incentive mechanism.

Suppliers, network operators and entities that promote and defend the interests of electricity consumers propose energy efficiency measures that go through a selection process managed by the regulatory entity ERSE.

The measures target consumers in the Industry, Agriculture, Services and Residential sectors. In the 4th (2011/2012), 5th (2013/2014) and 6th editions (2017/2018), measures supporting electric motors replacement were approved.

The 6th edition included a measure to promote the replacement of sub-IE1 motors in the 0.75kW to 400kW power range with IE3 or IE4 motors. The measure covered the 51% of the total installation cost with a financial incentive, with a budget of 900 thousand euros for the replacement of 420 motors. The estimated electricity savings generated were 115 GWh with GHG emission reduction of 43 thousand tCO2eq.

However, in the 7th edition of the PPEC, no similar measures were introduced for motor replacement.

This raises a few important questions:

• Were the results from the 6th edition deemed insufficient to justify including motor replacement as a priority in the 7th edition?
• What adjustments could be made to improve the effectiveness of such a measure in the event of its reintroduction?
• Are there any upcoming policies that might address the replacement of inefficient motor-driven systems to further drive energy savings?

For further information: https://www.erse.pt/en/activities/energy-efficiency/

Ivan / EU-MORE Team