Background information

On 9 April 2026, the Government issued a statement from the Council of Ministers, later published on the Government website on 10 April 2026, announcing the approval of the creation of the so-called Portugal Energy Resilience Facility. The Energy Resilience Facility will be managed by the Portuguese Promotion Bank (Banco Português de Fomento) with funding of up to €600 million.

This credit facility aims to support the liquidity of companies most exposed to energy costs, whilst promoting their transition to more efficient and sustainable energy production models. It is a form of financial support designed to help companies affected by the sharp rise in energy costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

Content of measure

Eligible companies must meet the following conditions:

• are able to demonstrate one of the following financial impacts resulting from the increase in energy costs and/or the increase in raw material costs, namely:
• Energy costs representing at least 20% of total production costs, in 2025 or at the date of application; or
• An increase of at least 20% in the cost of goods sold and materials consumed (COGSMC) in the 3 months prior to the application, compared to the same period of the previous year;
• Compliance with obligations towards the Financial System, Tax Authorities, Social Security and other public entities responsible for supporting businesses;
• Compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations.

Maximum credit amount per company * Micro-companies: up to €100,000 * Small companies: up to €500,000 * Medium companies: up to €1,500,000 * Small Mid Caps, Mid Caps or Large Companies: up to €2,500,000

The scheme is managed by the Portuguese Promotion Bank. Loans have a 70% government guarantee for medium-sized and large companies and a 80% guarantee for smaller firms, in order to reduce financing costs.

Eligible Operations * Credit operations aimed exclusively at financing working capital needs or treasury loans.

The maturity is up to 5 years, following the contracting of the operation, including a grace period of up to 12 months.

Use of measure

No official figure has been identified for the number of applicant or beneficiary companies. With a budget of €600 million and maximum limits per company ranging from €100,000 to €2.5 million, the scheme’s theoretical capacity varies depending on the profile of the companies and the amounts actually contracted.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement	No involvement
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: N/A

Involvement

According to the information available, the social partners were not involved in the design, implementation or monitoring of the measure. The measure was introduced by the Government and announced publicly on 9 April 2026, in a statement from the Council of Ministers.

Views and reactions

The Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP) considered the Portugal Energy Resilience Facility, a business-friendly measure. However, it emphasised that a credit line was not the optimal form for this measure. This position was set out in a statement published on the CIP website on 6 April 2026 and further developed by its president in a public radio station.

'It is a good but not excellent measure. To be excellent, there would have to be no costs involved. Where there is interest, there is always a cost. Therefore, if businesses want to remain competitive, they have to accept this cost when they resort to these credit lines. However, the alternative is worse. Without this support, companies would be left unprotected from this sharp rise," he points out.

Sources

• 02 April 2026: CIP. 600 milhões "é um apoio que vai beneficiar as empresas" (observador.pt)
• 03 April 2026: Patrões aplaudem "medida boa", micro-empresas dizem que são "mais linhas de endividamento" (rr.pt)
• 29 April 2026: Linha Portugal Resiliência Energética (www.bpfomento.pt)