Lisbon, May 29, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese consumer protection watchdog Deco on Thursday called for urgent measures to lower electricity prices, including VAT, and to protect consumer rights in new energy models.

"Deco is calling for urgent measures to lower energy prices, including VAT, [and] to protect consumer rights in new energy models, such as energy communities and the adoption of public policies to support energy efficiency, combating energy poverty among families," reads a statement released by the association on World Energy Day, which is marked today.

It stresses that "energy vulnerability is a reality for many families, who do not heat their homes in winter or cool them in summer, living in uncomfortable and even unhealthy housing".

According to Deco, the energy sector "continues to be a problem for Portuguese families", who complain mainly about excessive billing: in 2024, the association received a total of 6,258 complaints and, from January to April this year, 2,017.

As part of World Energy Day, Deco also reported that, one month after the nationwide power blackout on 28 April, it received more than a hundred complaints about damage to household appliances and equipment, serious difficulties in restoring telecommunications and flight disruptions (cancellations and delays).

Another of the association's warnings concerns the "difficulty in reading" electricity bills: "Most consumers are concerned about their bills and the difficulty in reading them. Although households express an interest in reducing costs and improving the energy efficiency of their homes, the complicated language of energy bills and the lack of information and complexity of support measures remain barriers to efficient consumption management," it maintains.

In this context, Deco considers it "urgent" to invest in consumer energy literacy.

PD/AYLS // AYLS

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