The Decree Law allowing the change has already been published, so you no longer have to wait until October 1st to change your gas contract to a regulated market. And that’s exactly what CNN Portugal was trying to do.
“Dear customer, the exceptional regime, which is due to come into force on 1 October and which will allow the conclusion of contracts on the regulated market for the supply of natural gas, is awaiting the publication of legislation containing the rules applicable to this supply. if the conditions that are currently provided by law for.”
Between 4:20 pm and 5:15 pm this Wednesday, it was an outdated message that we heard bell after bell. It made me smile instead of despair. Can we talk to someone? Yes and no. Of the 12 retailers of last resort (CUR), only two – Tagusgás (Santarén) and Transgás (Lisbon) – were serviced by a single employee. However, the same employee redirected the call to another number, which, oddly enough, had the same auto attendant as everyone else.
In each call, CNN Portugal waited five minutes. But unsuccessfully. When we contacted the Galp suppliers, we even heard the following message: “Hello, welcome to Mundo Galp. Today is a good day to talk to us.” But the truth is, we can’t talk to anyone to get information.
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Like any customer looking to join the regulated gas market, we went to Loja do Cidadão de Marvila, located in the Pingo Doce shopping center in Lisbon, home to one of the 12 providers of last resort. Upon arrival, we found a classic city dweller’s shop with a typical ticket system, but the usual long wait was five minutes ahead of us: after receiving a coupon for the Gas Distribution section, we were called to counter 2.
Here we are told that there are only three requirements to change the supply of gas to the regulated market: the person who signed the agreement has a card of a citizen of the same and updated gas bill (see instructions HERE with all the details on changing the contract).
This applies to customers who are Galp or any other provider. There is no cost to this process and it should take about three weeks before changes are made, which may vary depending on the previous contract.
In parting, after an explanation that did not take more than 10 minutes, we asked in which establishments it was possible to make changes and we were told that in any “Galp store” – with a warning that there would be no brand at the gas station. can . And this is where the process gets a little confusing. From Marvila we went to Gare do Oriente, a place that is easy to reach for most people in Lisbon and where within a short radius of action we could walk to three different establishments listed in the “Electricity and Natural Gas Shops” section on Galp website: one at Gare Oriente, Worten mobile store at Vasco da Gama shopping center and Galp Tangerina gas station opposite Gare do Oriente bus station.
We started the journey at the Worten mobile store where we were quickly informed that it would not be possible to make a change to the contract in this establishment – we were directed to the Gare Oriente store, which is more like a cafe and in which it was also impossible to even talk about gas amid the hustle and bustle professionals trying to hand out croissants, milkshakes and coffee to customers already lined up in no small part. The security guard then advised us to go to the Galp Tangerina gas station across the street where “there was a counter” for this type of issue. Something was confirmed, despite the fact that it was said that it was impossible to carry out such an operation at a gas station.
Faced with confusion, we contacted Galp in an attempt to understand which establishments can change the gas contract to the regular market – we are waiting for the list to be sent to us.
These are the 12 CURs contacted by CNN Portugal: Beiragas – Company de Gas das Beiras, South Africa; Dianagas – Natural Gas Distributors Society of Évora, South Africa; Duriensegás – Sociedade Distribuidora de Gás Natural do Douro, SA; EDP Gás Serviço Universal, SA – Porto; Lisboagás Commercialização, SA; Lusitaniagás Commercialização, SA; Medigás – Sociedade Distribuidora de Gás Natural do Algarve, SA; Paxgás – Sociedade Distribuidora de Gás Natural de Beja, SA; Setgás Commercialização, SA; Sonorgás – Sociedade de Gás do Norte, SA; Tagusgás – Vale do Tejo Gas Company, SA – Santarém; Transgás, SA – Lisbon.
