PRESENTATION

The Agência de Energia do Cávado was formally constituted on July 5, 2010, and held its first General Meeting on August 2, 2010. In that same Assembly were created the Social Bodies, namely the Board, the General Meeting Board and the supervisory board.

The creation of the Agência de Energia do Cávado follows the approval of the candidacy presented by CIM Cávado to the competition “Promotion and Development of the Territorial Network of Energy Agencies” of the ON.2. After evaluating the merits of the application, a triennial budget of a total of € 399,846.75 has been approved, of which € 279,892.72 will be financed by the FEDER and the remaining € 119,954.02 will be supported by the Local Administration.

In general terms, the Agência de Energia do Cávado (AEC) will govern its activities by its legal framework. This same national framework has been modernized and is to a large extent similar to that of other European partners and has been defined by Council of Ministers Resolution 169/2005 of October 24. Broadly speaking, the objectives of this energy policy are as follows:

• Ensure security of energy supply by diversifying primary resources and promoting energy efficiency;
• Stimulating and promoting competition by promoting consumer protection and business competitiveness and efficiency;
• To guarantee the environmental suitability of the whole energy process, trying to reduce the environmental impact at local, regional and global scales.

In addition, the Agency will monitor and encourage the adoption of energy-efficient behavior and the valorisation of local energy resources in liaison with local authorities, regional economic operators and citizens in general. In this way, it is expected that quality, visibility, integration and lasting impact will be provided to the intervention measures that streamline in an integrated way the Plan of Action for the promotion of Sustainable Energy in the North of Portugal.

It is to be expected that the Agency will acquire the relevant size and capacity and will have the means and the skills and expertise necessary to create a sustainable energy culture and a stable framework for its functioning over time. The Action Plans of Energy Agencies should focus on the energy demand issue by informing, sensitizing and coordinating local services in developing needs assessments, evaluating and monitoring projects, monitoring their performance and, promoting the qualification of the main professional agents and valuing the best practices.