The State Expects to Save 46 Million Euros by Pooling Its 2027 Energy Purchases, Almost Twice the 2026 Estimate
Three resolutions let the ESPAP buy electricity, gas and road fuel for hundreds of public bodies in 2027, with spending capped below 230 million euros. A tender for leased electric cars followed a day later.
The government expects hundreds of public bodies to save 46 million euros on their electricity, natural gas and road fuel in 2027 by buying them together through the state's central purchasing agency. The estimate is almost double the one given for 2026.
The Council of Ministers, meeting at Guarda City Hall on 1 October, approved three resolutions authorising the ESPAP (Entidade de Serviços Partilhados da Administração Pública, the Shared Services Agency for Public Administration) to run the 2027 purchases. According to the official communiqué, the three procedures carry a maximum spending volume of "less than 230 million euros" and will produce an estimated saving of 46 million euros for the public bodies they cover.
A rising estimate
The government has put a figure on these savings for three years running. In October 2024, the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, said the central energy purchase for 2025 would save an estimated 17 million euros. A similar procedure approved in 2025 for the 2026 supply was estimated at 24.8 million euros, Lusa reported. The 2027 figure is close to twice that.
The communiqué does not say what the saving is measured against, nor how the 230 million euros divides between electricity, gas and fuel. The three resolutions have not yet appeared in the Diário da República (the official gazette), which would give the amounts for each.
How the system works
Energy buying for central government has been concentrated at ESPAP since Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 78/2017 of 6 June. For bodies bound to the Sistema Nacional de Compras Públicas (National Public Procurement System), using ESPAP's procedures is compulsory: they may not sign their own energy contracts unless the finance minister grants an exception under Decreto-Lei n.º 37/2007.
Each body reports its expected consumption and keeps a register of its delivery points on ESPAP's system. ESPAP runs the tenders, and each body then signs and manages its own contracts with the winning suppliers.
The system is large. ESPAP says it covers more than 1,182 compulsory members, made up of the departments of direct state administration and public institutes, plus about 749 voluntary members, including local councils, state, municipal and regional public companies, and higher education institutions.
Electric cars next
A day after the Council of Ministers meeting, on 2 October, ESPAP launched a public tender for a framework agreement on the operational leasing of electric vehicles for public bodies (AQ-AOV-VE 2026). It covers the six types of fully electric vehicle set out in Despacho n.º 7861-A/2023, the order that governs what cars the state fleet may include. Each type is offered with a 100,000 or 120,000 kilometre allowance over 48 months, giving 12 lots.
All lots must meet the green criteria for vehicle leasing set by Resolução do Conselho de Ministros n.º 132/2023, which put into effect ECO360, the national strategy for green public procurement to 2030.
The same Council of Ministers also gave the Pisão dam until 2030 and set out how the state will finish Recovery Plan works with up to 200 million euros of budget money.
