EU provides €9.5 million to boost energy efficiency in Moldova's residential sector

Chisinau, July 10 /MOLDPRES/- Moldovan homeowners will be able to significantly reduce their energy bills. The European Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) today signed a declaration of intent to set up a program to reduce the cost of energy efficiency renovations for residential buildings in Moldova. The European Union will contribute €9.5 million in the form of grants in support of credit lines under the EBRD's Residential Green Economy Financing Facility.

The joint initiative aims to boost Moldovan apartment and house owners to undertake energy efficiency renovations in order to reduce the energy bills and strengthen Moldova's long-term energy security. The joint program complements the government's residential energy efficiency fund in Moldova, which is specifically dedicated to vulnerable families.

European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said that with this new program, the EU's ambition is to contribute to significantly reduce the costs of energy efficiency renovation of residential buildings in the Republic of Moldova.

The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Moldova, Catarina Bjorlin Hansen said that banks participating in the program will provide loans to households for investments in energy efficiency measures, such as thermal insulation, heat pumps, solar panels, etc. After successful implementation of these measures, with the support of the European Union, the loan beneficiaries will be eligible for a cash repayment, the official said.

The European Union has already provided significant support to Moldova's energy efficiency and energy resilience sector.

The horizontal distribution system can be applied in more than 80% of the multi-storey blocks in the country connected to the centralized heating system. More than 70% of multi-storey buildings in Chisinau have low energy performance. In blocks of flats in Chisinau and Balti, where a horizontal distribution system has been installed, tenants have achieved average savings on their bills of up to 22% in Chisinau and over 40% in Balti.

The EU is the largest provider of financial assistance to Moldova. As of 2021, €2.2 billion has been mobilized for Moldova through macro-financial assistance, budget support, bilateral assistance through annual action programmes, humanitarian aid, support for crisis response. 157.5 million euros is expected to be disbursed in 2024 for budget support (€35 million) and macro-financial assistance (€122.5 million).