A co-payment facility for expenses borne with connecting to the Gas Mains is set up to foster the use of gases of renewable origin 

• Energy efficiency becomes a priority when planning the National Transport Network, Storage Infrastructure, and Liquefied Natural Gas terminals, as well as when calculating and setting the tariffs regulated by the Energy Services Regulator. 
• These legislative amendments will help in meeting the goals for the energy transition and decarbonising the economy. 

With a view to ensuring compliance with the international commitments on the energy transition and the economy’s decarbonisation, the Government approved amendments to the way in which the national Gas System is organised and operates, and ensured the transposition of the European directives on rules for renewable gas, natural gas, and hydrogen internal markets, and on energy efficiency. 

This, through the partial transposition of the European Parliament and Council Directive 2024/1788 of 13 June 2024, which establishes that Member States must set up a regulatory framework in favour of the fees and costs of connecting the biomethane production facilities to the transport and distribution networks, Portugal intends to leverage this market and cut down barriers on new renewable gas production units connecting and accessing the market.

Considering that in this area the national industry is still under an initial development stage, the new legislation sets up a facility for co-paying expenses borne with connecting to the Gas Mains, fostering the use of gases of renewable origin, in line with the implementation of the Biomethane Action Plan for 2024-2040 and the National Hydrogen Strategy. 

With the partial transposition of (EU)Directive 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and Council of 13 September, the principle of priority for energy efficiency in planning the National Trasport Network, the Storage Infrastructure, and the Liquefied Natural Gas terminal sis also introduced, as well as for calculating and setting the tariffs regulated by the Energy Services Regulator. 

We note that the national Energy and Climate Plan for 2030 set the target of reaching a mix of up to 10% hydrogen in the National Gas Transport Network, and of up to 20% in the National Gas Distribution Network. A target to which the Recovery and Resilience Facility has contributed, allowing several assistances to be made available to promote the energy transition by producing hydrogen and other gases of renewable origin. 

The major European goal, to which Portugal is committed, set in the European Commission’s “Fit for 55” package is to achieve a reduction of at least 55% of net GHG emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, with the final aim of being carbon neutral by 2050.