Next year, the Energy Efficiency Fund plans to select 10 pilot cities in which 1,000 houses will be insulated per year. The budget for this is UAH 6.8 billion
This was stated by Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk at a meeting of the Council for the Development of Regions and Communities.
According to him, the goal for 2020 is to thermally modernize 1,000 high-rise buildings. To do this, 10 pilot cities should be selected, in which local authorities will provide support to condominiums that intend to receive grants from the Energy Efficiency Fund.
Minister of Community Development Alyona Babak emphasized that municipalities will become a third party in relations between the Energy Efficiency Fund and condominiums. To do this, local authorities should create or select an existing municipal enterprise that will become an intermediary between the Fund and condominiums.
“Such a utility company will actually help condominium associations contact the Energy Efficiency Fund, submit an application, undergo a technical audit of buildings and obtain project documentation, and even take out a bank loan under a municipal guarantee,” Babak said.
According to her, since September 2019, only 18 associations of co-owners have submitted applications to the Energy Efficiency Fund. This creates a risk that the planned 6.8 billion UAH for energy modernization in 2020 may not be spent in full. Therefore, a decision was made to involve municipalities in the process.
Babak noted that from January 2020, the government plans to begin selecting municipalities for pilot projects. By March next year, all procedures of the Energy Efficiency Fund must be improved so that utility companies have the right to apply to the Fund on behalf of condominiums.
“Preparatory processes should take place in March-July: general meetings, energy audits, project documentation, concluding agreements between condominium associations and utility companies, submitting applications to the Fund.
In August-November, we could talk about implementing projects in cities. Experience shows that from July to November, large-scale thermal modernization of individual buildings can be carried out. In December, we would see that the Fund has verified these projects and would already be paying out grants,” Babak said.
Honcharuk noted that according to government calculations, the payment in thermally modernized buildings may be lower by up to 60%.
