Electricity and Gas in Portugal: Set Up Supply or Change the Contract Holder

• A new network connection, a contract in your name and a supplier switch are different tasks.
• CPE identifies the electricity installation; CUI identifies the natural-gas installation. Neither is your personal customer number.
• Tenants can evidence their right to occupy the home; ownership is not the only contracting route.
• Gas inspection evidence, the opening meter reading and written start/end dates help avoid failed activation and billing disputes.

For a home already connected to the networks, contact the supplier you choose to arrange a contract in your name. If it has never been connected, start with the distribution-network operator and the installation requirements instead. Having a meter on the wall does not tell you whether a supply contract is active. Ask which situation applies, rather than requesting a supplier switch when you actually need first activation.

Which energy task do I need?

This guide focuses on household electricity and network natural gas. It does not describe bottled gas, communal LPG or municipal water as if they followed the same process. ERSE's price comparison covers mainland low-voltage electricity and low-pressure natural gas; do not assume its supplier-choice workflow or offers apply unchanged in Madeira or the Azores. Ask the relevant local operator for the channel that applies to your home.

Where do I find the CPE or CUI?

Look on the supply contract or a bill for that exact property: CPE is Código do Ponto de Entrega for electricity; CUI is Código Universal da Instalação for natural gas. The distribution operator assigns the installation code and it stays the same when the supplier changes. Do not substitute the meter serial number, customer number or NIF. For a newly connected home, ask the operator for the assigned code; for an existing home without a bill, confirm the code with the operator or supplier.

Check the full address and apartment against the code before applying. A bill for another flat in the building is not proof that you have identified your own installation. Keep a private copy or the relevant details, with the current holder's permission where appropriate; do not publish a previous occupant's bill or use their identity to contract.

What documents do tenants and new holders need?

Article 21 of ERSE's current Commercial Relations Regulation recognises evidence of residence, tax domicile or lawful occupation at the supply location. Its examples include official documents, AT/Social Security documents, another essential-service bill no more than three months old, a tenancy agreement or another valid occupancy title. You do not have to own the property. Ask the chosen supplier for its current identity/tax-data checklist and accepted evidence for your situation.

• Your correct identity and tax-identification details, contact address and the property's supply address.
• The installation's CPE/CUI, and an existing bill or contract details if available.
• Evidence of lawful occupation, such as the tenancy agreement, if required under the contracting route.
• Requested electricity power/tariff or natural-gas consumption band, based on actual use rather than a sales assumption.
• IBAN/payment instructions only for the payment method you choose; ask which alternatives the offer permits.
• For gas, the applicable valid inspection evidence and any technical appointment requirements.

These are preparation checks, not a claim that one nationwide upload bundle fits every supplier. Article 21 exempts the existing installation holder from its occupation-document requirement. It also permits irrelevant confidential information to be redacted subject to data-protection requirements; do not hide the fields needed to establish occupation. An AT address certificate is not the only possible document, and ordering an AIMA accommodation declaration does not replace the energy supplier's check.

How do I change the holder without losing track of the old contract?

Ask for a contract under the incoming person's identity, the effective supply date and how the outgoing account will be settled. Changing a contact email is not changing the holder. Article 70 keeps the outgoing customer's responsibility until a new contract is concluded or their written transfer notice takes effect. After that transfer is communicated, if the new user does not contract within 15 days, supply may be interrupted after advance warning. Coordinate before handing over the keys; do not assume the light being on means the transfer is complete.

Keep the agreed handover date and reading, written request and confirmation. If the previous occupier had debts, Article 21 does not allow a new customer's contract to be refused solely for a different customer's debts at the same property, except where the holder change manifestly aims to avoid payment. That is not a waiver of your own debt to the same supplier. Ask for a written reason if refused and use the complaint route rather than paying someone else's balance without checking.

Does changing a gas supplier or holder require another inspection?

Not automatically. DGEG's current instructions allow a change without an extraordinary inspection when the applicable conditions are met: no technical interruption or triggering alteration/leak/critical-defect situation, and valid approving inspection evidence confirming that appliances and ventilation/exhaust systems have not been replaced. Ask the supplier which evidence it needs for your installation. An expired or missing document, or changed appliances, is not the same as a routine supplier switch.

For a missing duplicate, DGEG FAQ IG 14 directs you to the entity that issued the original, not to DGEG for a replacement certificate. For new supply, the installation must satisfy the inspection requirements. Use authorised gas professionals for technical work; this administrative checklist cannot certify the installation or explain how to reconnect it yourself.

Is switching suppliers free, and will the supply be cut?

The switch itself is free and the new supplier manages the switch, including ending the former supply contract. ERSE says supply must not be cut because of that switching process. This does not mean every connection, inspection, reactivation or early termination is free. Check the old loyalty clause and any separate add-on contracts. The regulator's general switching ceiling is three weeks from the request, subject to a shorter legal/regulatory period or an agreed specific date; it is not a promised first-connection time.

Before accepting, compare total terms: price structure, power/consumption band, billing, payment conditions, optional services and any loyalty compensation. Consumer loyalty periods cannot exceed 12 months and do not renew automatically. Ask for the contract summary and written terms; do not compare only an introductory discount. The official ERSE comparison is a useful starting point, not a recommendation from Finkavo to choose one supplier.

Use the official ERSE energy-price comparison for mainland household electricity and natural gas; check the assumptions and complete terms.

Which meter reading should I keep?

As a practical handover record, take a dated photo of the meter reading and serial number when you get or return the keys, and send the reading through the supplier/operator's accepted channel. Keep all tariff registers where relevant, not just one unexplained number. ERSE distinguishes real readings from estimates; gas readings can be communicated monthly on the date shown on the bill. Ask the operator how to read an unfamiliar display. A photo kept privately is not confirmation that a reading was accepted.

What if activation fails or the first bill is wrong?

For a disputed bill or refusal to resolve the problem, follow the complaints-book guide. If the issue is affordability or a missing discount, check the separate social electricity and natural-gas tariff guide; electricity and gas eligibility are not interchangeable.

Check the CPE/CUI, apartment, holder, effective dates and gas inspection documents against the request. Ask what is outstanding and for a reference and written next step. On the bill, compare the starting reading, billed period and actual/estimated basis. For a dispute, contact the supplier first. ERSE's guidance then points to the electronic Livro de Reclamações and its intervention form where appropriate; preserve the request and response. Do not duplicate a complaint just because ERSE receives a copy through that channel.

For the other records after a move, use the moving-house checklist. Internet has a different legal framework: see telecom cancellation when moving home; do not apply energy-switching rules to broadband. If setting up bank details, read opening a Portuguese bank account. An energy contract does not update your fiscal address. If you need to stop a collection, use the direct-debit cancellation and refund guide; blocking a payment does not terminate the energy contract. Finkavo can help organise the paperwork; contracting and technical activation remain with the supplier/operator.