Prishtina, 22.09.2024 – The Ministry of Economy opened the Public Call “Support of Household Consumers to Invest in Efficient Heating Equipment” for houses and apartments, funded by the European Union (EU) in Kosovo.

At the ceremony held in an open setting and attended by many citizens, Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli, and the Deputy Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Eva Palatova, were present.

Prime Minister Kurti highlighted that this is the 13^th consecutive call for energy efficiency subsidies, with approximately 40,000 families in the country having already been supported with around 40 million euros.

“With the savings made by the 10,000 families that benefited from the first subsidy call during the 2022–2023 winter season, 14 GWh less were spent, and as a result we saved 1.8 million euros of the state budget on energy imports. The number of beneficiary families has quadrupled, and the savings continue because these are lasting investments that increase comfort and reduce expenses year after year”, Prime Minister Kurti stated.

The Prime Minister also urged the Serbian, Turkish, Bosnian, Ashkali, Roma, Egyptian, Gorani, Croatian, and Montenegrin citizens living in Kosovo to take advantage of this opportunity and apply for efficient heating equipment subsidies.

Minister Rizvanolli pointed out that record investments in energy efficiency have been achieved in the Republic of Kosovo, where for three and a half years of the mandate of the government much more investments have been made in energy efficiency than ever before.

“During this mandate alone, efficiency measures have been implemented in 112 public buildings by the Ministry of Economy and the Kosovo Energy Efficiency Fund. 35,000 families have received support for household appliances and heating equipment so far, and another 5,000 families have benefited from the Efficiency Fund for Insulation and other measures, which we intend to continue in the future as well”, said Minister Rizvanolli.

Minister Rizvanolli explained that the application process for efficient equipment is easy and transparent, urging citizens to apply for the subsidy through the e-Kosova platform.

While Deputy Head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Eva Palatova, highlighted that the EU’s energy support package for Kosovo was designed in 2023, when the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine became apparent in Europe, and these consequences of the war also affected electricity supply and security and this was also reflected on the bills of citizens.

“This is why we prepared these support packages across Europe, including the Western Balkans, allocating 75 million euros for Kosovo, which has been progressively disbursed to support citizens, families, and micro, small and medium enterprises, which need to adapt their energy infrastructure to ensure greater sustainability and high energy efficiency”, Palatova stated.

The measures presented today aim to support household consumers for 10,000 families, especially those in need, to invest in the installation of efficient heating equipment, including:

• Heat pump,
• Efficient air-conditioner,
• Biomass (wood, pellet, briquette) boiler, and
• Individual biomass stoves.

The application deadline is thirty (30) calendar days, namely until 11 October 2024, or until spending the budget allocated for this Call. Applications received will be reviewed on the “FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED” basis, therefore we encourage you to apply as early as possible.

Application is made online via the e-Kosova platform: https://ekosova.rks-gov.net/472

You can find complete information of the Call at the following link: https://me.rks-gov.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/eng-Thirrje-publike-Investimi-ne-pajisje-ngrohese-eficiente.pdf