How to heat the home and reduce heating bills? Which heating type is the best, what subsidies are provided by the government and local governments and how to get these funds? Many questions, many doubts, but also a lot of interest to find out more information.
Households have the largest share of final energy consumption in the Republic of Serbia. Heating accounts for 65% of the total household energy consumption, i.e. a quarter of all energy consumed.
Aleksandar Macura from the RES Foundation points out that “the energy renovation of households throughout the Republic of Serbia is supported through a five-year project of the Ministry of Mining and Energy (MRE) and the World Bank, which provides subsidies to households”, namely in those municipalities where the corresponding local self-government units (LGUs) apply for participation in the subsidy program. Grants are awarded to households in the percentage amount of 50% to 70% of the value of the energy rehabilitation project, and the criteria include factors such as the level of development or air pollution in the municipalities where the program is implemented. Households finance the remaining value of projects from their own funds.
Data from the analysis of the implementation of subsidy programs in all local governments so far show that the most public money is directed to those users who were able to allocate the most of their own funds. The mandatory minimum level of participation in these programs by providing one’s own funds, it turned out, is an insurmountable obstacle precisely for those citizens with low incomes and are often in a situation of energy poverty – precisely those citizens who actually need this kind of help the most. They generally cannot afford to participate in tenders designed in this way for the award of subsidies.
As Macura explained, during the year 2024, local governments could for the first time choose to apply for funds that will be directed towards energy-poor citizens. Thus, 44 local self-governments decided to seek funds to support citizens who have the status of energy-vulnerable electricity customer, and 137 for all other citizens. The total funds in 2024 for supporting energy-vulnerable customers amounted to 221 million dinars, while the funds earmarked for all other households amounted to approximately 1.9 billion dinars.
Almost everyone present at the meeting agreed that one of the main challenges in the implementation and access to subsidies is timely notification about the existing open call for subventions, especially the information on the duration of the competition and the conditions that accompany it, which especially applies to energy-vulnerable customers. In addition, the aggravating circumstances for participation in competitions are long waiting lists for solutions to submitted requests for legalization of buildings, as well as just filling out the necessary documentation and forms.
As a first step towards outreach to this specific category of vulnerable population it would be enough to place the notice about the competition at the door of the local community when it opens, and then forward the citizens’ inquiries to the appropriate officials in the municipal administration. The Women’s Association – “Expanzija” as well as the Regional Development Agency (RDA) “Zlatibor” can play an important role and provide necessary assistance agreed the participants of the meeting.
In addition to subsidies, citizens’ interest in solar energy and how to best use it, how to invest in solar panels and collectors is also significant. Miloš Radojević from RRA Zlatibor advised that “first of all, the profitability should be assessed, because even though we are talking about solar energy available to everyone, we can only see the profitability of the investment with adequate professional advice.”
In perspective, the possibility to produce enough energy for one’s own needs, as well as to hand over surpluses to the distribution network, opens up opportunities for acquiring the status of “buyer-producer”, which the participants of the meeting were informed about in more detail through the “Guide for households to acquire the status of buyer-producer”.
All those present agree that investing in their own capacity to produce energy from renewable sources, primarily from solar energy, would significantly alleviate or solve the problems that residents of smaller settlements, especially in rural areas, often have with regular electricity supply, i.e. with frequent supply interruptions occurring after almost every major storm. This entails the risk of malfunctions of electrical appliances.
Menka Kasić, president of the Women’s Association “Expanzija” adds that “there are many locals who want to use solar panels. “It is very important not to cut down the trees and entire forests that are our lungs, but to go further in the greater use of solar energy”, and ends with the words “I am very satisfied with today’s counseling and I see that all the participants managed to find out a lot that they did not know before“. Almira Podbičanin particularly emphasized the importance of new information and knowledge about measures concerning roof insulation.
Aside of Prijepolje, i.e. Brodarevo, energy counseling for women from rural areas were also held in Arilje, Priboj and Čajetina.
“Energy talks” with the women of the Zlatibor district are part of the project “Improving the use of sustainable energy in the Zlatibor region”, which is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with the Regional Development Agency “Zlatibor”. The project is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.