Two in Three People in Portugal Say Dearer Energy Has Squeezed Their Budgets, the Seventh-Highest Share in the EU in an EIB Survey
In the EIB's 2026 Climate Survey, 68 percent in Portugal say energy prices cut their purchasing power significantly, against 60 percent across the EU. Fewer cut food or heating than the EU average. Here is the help already available.
Two in three people in Portugal say dearer energy has cut deep into their budgets over the past year, a larger share than in most of the European Union. In the European Investment Bank's eighth Climate Survey, published on 5 November, 68 percent of respondents in Portugal said rising prices for natural gas, vehicle fuel, heating oil or electricity had lowered their purchasing power "very" or "quite" significantly over the past 12 months. The EU figure was 60 percent.
That puts Portugal seventh of the 27 member states, according to the EIB's country results. Romania was highest at 80 percent and Malta lowest at 23 percent. Ipsos bva carried out the survey for the bank, interviewing 23,000 people aged 16 and over between 3 and 25 August, about 1,000 of them in Portugal, the EIB said.
How people in Portugal coped
Respondents were asked whether rising energy prices had led them to make specific changes. Portugal's answers differ from the EU pattern:
- Food and health: 34 percent cut everyday spending on food or health, below the EU average of 38 percent.
- Heating: 24 percent turned the heating down at home, against 34 percent across the EU.
- The car: 65 percent changed how they use a car, above the EU's 60 percent. Among them, 33 percent gave up a weekend away, a holiday or a family visit, and 28 percent drove more slowly to save fuel.
- Bills and debt: 7 percent put off paying an energy bill, 5 percent asked for financial help and 4 percent went into debt or took out a consumer loan.
People in Portugal are also more hopeful than most that the shift to clean energy will help them. Asked how the energy transition will affect their energy bill, 38 percent expect it to fall, almost twice the EU's 20 percent and the third-highest share in the bloc. Only 21 percent expect a rise, against 40 percent across the EU. Eighty-five percent called the transition urgent for Portugal (EU: 75 percent).
In a statement released with the survey, EIB president Nadia Calviño said Portugal had played a leading role in Europe's move to clean energy, Lusa reported via RTP.
What it means for you: help that already exists
If energy bills are squeezing your household, check whether you already qualify for the support that exists:
- Tarifa social de energia (social energy tariff): a discount on electricity and natural gas. According to the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology (DGEG), for electricity you need a contract in your own name for your permanent home, with contracted power of 6.9 kVA or less. You must also receive a qualifying Social Security benefit, such as the solidarity supplement for older people, the social integration income, unemployment benefit or child benefit (abono de família), or have a household income under DGEG's published ceiling. Since July 2016 it has been applied automatically after checks with the tax authority and Social Security. If you think you qualify but it is missing from your bill, DGEG's information line is 210 308 536 on working days. We covered the 2027 discount in October.
- Botija de Gás Solidária (bottled gas support): households on the electricity social tariff, or receiving a minimum social benefit, get 25 euros per bottle until 31 December (normally 15 euros), for up to two bottles a month. Payment is made at participating parish councils (juntas de freguesia).
- Vale Eficiência (efficiency voucher): for insulation, windows or heat pumps. Read our report on the 28,000 households now getting one.
