30.09.2021.
The budget of 300 million kunas for the energy renovation of family houses sparked the interest of the citizens of Dubrovnik who came to the workshop held by the Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund.After the Fund launched the Public Call on 15 September, the citizens needed additional explanations regarding the terms and conditions for co-financing, since they differ compared to the previous year. This was also an opportunity to demonstrate the application process in the e-Applications system.
Before the working part of the workshop, the attendees were addressed by Marina Lazarević, member of the Board of the Dubrovnik Development Agency (DURA). “So far, Dubrovnik has had excellent cooperation with the Fund. In the last five years we have renovated five public buildings – nurseries Ciciban and Izviđač, and three elementary schools: Lapad, Ivan Gundulić, and Marin Držić. These projects cost 21 million kunas, of which 14 million was grant funding. Encouraged by these results, we have also prepared the projects for the energy renovation of the sports hall and two more elementary schools, and the plan is to apply them to the future public calls,” announced Lazarević. She informed the citizens that by taking part in the programme, they could achieve savings of 30 to 60 percent on their utility bills. She also underlined that the Dubrovnik Development Agency would help with applications to all interested parties.
In the presentation held by the Fund, they showed different energy renovation measures eligible for co-financing and, depending on the chosen measures, different terms and conditions to be met. In Dubrovnik-Neretva County, the thermal insulation of the building envelope or a comprehensive energy renovation would be co-financed with up to 60% for the houses in the energy category C or lower. 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 this area falling in the energy category B or higher, the grant amounting to 40, 60 or 80%, depending on the location.
Compared to last year, the budget has increased to HRK 300 million, and it is expected that it will be sufficient for around 4000 houses. Depending on the measures, the maximum grant per house is HRK 204 thousand if it has all the required documentation, up to three dwelling units or a surface area of up to 600 m2. Eligible applicants are natural persons owners or co-owners of the house with permanent residence registered at the address of the house in question no later than 14 September.
Interested citizens can apply for co-financing solely via the e-Applications system, with the submission of applications starting on 14 October at 9:00. Only then will the users be able to fill out the online application form and upload the necessary documents. The participants in the workshop had the opportunity to see how to use the application, and they were advised to create their user accounts before the date of submission. In case they could not submit an online application or were not skilled at using a computer, they could hire an anergy auditor or someone else to do it for them. The Fund will provide 500 kn for this service, and the amount would be paid together with other energy renovation costs, based on an invoice or service contract.
The Fund advised the participants who already had the documentation prepared to obtain the new quotes from the contractors due to a change in market prices. It was explained that these quotes were only informative, and it was possible to change the contractor later on. On the other hand, documents such as an 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.
Interested citizens will be able to submit their applications via the online e-Applications system on 14 October 2021 starting at 9:00, and if their application is successful, they will have a period of 24 months to implement the planned works.
