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28.09.2021.

The citizens of Karlovac took part today in an information and education workshop on the energy renovation of family houses by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund, so that they could prepare their applications as best as possible for the Public Call published on 15 September.

The citizens of Karlovac showed great interest in today’s workshop in which the employees from the Fund presented all parts of the Public Call and showed how to apply their projects using the e-Applications system.

The event opened by the mayor of Karlovac, Damir Mandić, who expressed his satisfaction with the savings achieved by the renovated public buildings, and he announced that his fellow citizens could expect assistance in the application process to the extent possible. He also said that he was planning to designate one person in the Town administration that would be responsible for replying to the citizens’ questions about this call. Since the interest in the workshop exceeded the organiser’s expectations, the Town provided for live streaming of the entire workshop on YouTube.

This year the Fund earmarked HRK 300 million for the energy renovation of houses, with the maximum incentive per project of HRK 204 thousand, and the citizens were most interested in finding about the terms and conditions and method of applying. The head of the Department for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources at the Fund, Mladen Ilijević, pointed out the importance of scrutinizing the text of the public call to avoid any mistakes in the preparation of documentation. He also underlined eligible houses under this call were those not damaged in the earthquake, and the ones with tagged “Green – unrestricted access (U1)”. “These are buildings or houses fit for use, without damage or small damage that is not posing a risk for the structural load and usability of the building,” explained Ilijević. 

Thermal insulation of the building envelope or a comprehensive energy renovation will be co-financed with up to 60% for the houses in the energy category D or lower in continental, or C or lower in coastal Croatia. The funding is also available solely for the use of renewable energy sources, either for the heating systems or electricity generation. However, these funds are available only for the houses in the energy category C or higher, or B or higher in the continental and coastal part of Croatia respectively, the grant amounting to 40, 60 or 80%, depending on the location.

By then, interested citizens have to create their user accounts so that they could log in, fill in the application form, and upload the necessary documentation. The Fund advised the participants who already had the documentation ready and waiting to obtain new quotes from the contractors. They explained that these quotes were only informative, and it was possible to change the contractor later on. On the other hand, documents such as energy audit report and energy performance certificate are valid for several years and it is not necessary to have them drawn up again if there were no additional construction works on the house.

To simplify the application process as much as possible, especially for those who are not very tech-savvy, the Fund will co-finance expert assistance with up to 500 kn, and the amount will be paid together with other energy renovation costs, based on an invoice or service contract.

All participants at the workshop, and all other citizens, will be able to send their applications through the online e-applications system starting on 14 October 2021, and if they are successful, they will have a 24-month period to implement the projects they planned.