The Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport announced today that the Azorean Government will implement the "Eficiência +" (Efficiency +) programme next year with the aim of reducing energy costs of Azorean families and companies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Course on Handling Fluorinated Gases at Capelas Vocational Training School, Vítor Fraga revealed that this programme will promote "energy audits with the purpose of identifying mitigation measures to foster behaviour change, choosing equipments adequately and replacing them when necessary, and introducing renewable energy sources in the system."

With regard to households, the current "Proenergia" programme will be redeveloped in order to become "more responsive and accessible" so that it may facilitate the purchase of equipments that allows using renewable energy sources and reduce the impact of energy costs on family budget," said Vítor Fraga.

"We are all aware of how important energy costs are in the daily lives of families and companies, the Regional Secretary stressed, assuring that the options taken by the Azorean Government for the energy sector are clear and are mainly intended to "increase the penetration rate of renewable energies and promote energy efficiency."

In this regard, the government official stressed that this new course falls within "a regional strategy to foster renewable energy sources and the promotion of energy efficiency, thus complying with Community directive of the 20-20-20 programme." The Regional Secretary also noted that "specialised vocational training remains a permanent challenge, being a factor of progress with increased relevance in recent years."

Furthermore, Vítor Fraga emphasised that the Regional Government intends to enhance "the skills of the Azorean population" and boost the "competitiveness of companies," because only then "we will be able to develop the regional economy and help Azorean families."