Mykolaiv City Hall wants to join the Revolving Fund of Energy-Efficient Cities

Renovation of a house on Admiralskiy Street in Mykolaiv. Archive NikVesti

Mykolayiv City Hall wants to join the program of the Revolving Fund of Energy-Efficient Cities to help local condominiums get an affordable loan for capital repairs and thermal modernization of buildings.

NikVesti wrote about this during the meeting of the Mykolayiv City Council commission on publicity, legality and deputy ethics.

As noted by acting Olha Havelia, director of the municipal institution «Energy Efficiency Center of the City of Mykolaiv», participation in the fund not only reduces the burden on the city's budget, but also creates opportunities for attracting additional funding from international donors.

«Participation in the program of the Revolving Fund of Energy-Efficient Cities will reduce the financial burden on the budget of territorial communities, speed up the implementation of energy efficiency measures that have not been properly implemented so far. A little will cover the lack of funds, and will also make it possible to effectively use the savings of already implemented energy-efficient projects. Because by now we all know the blackout and such a disadvantageous situation of our country and our city as well. So we want to raise the level of energy efficiency a little more and reduce expenses,» she says.

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Also, as part of this program, it is planned to introduce a competition for the selection of borrowers who will be provided with financial assistance. After considering applications from the heads of condominiums, a special commission will decide to whom and in what amount to provide funds.

«We have been fruitfully working with condominiums for a long time and know their financial capabilities and credit history well, which will allow us to carry out a thorough analysis before providing assistance,» added Olha Havelia.

Condominiums can receive interest-free repayable financial assistance for a period of 12 months. The city tender commission will make the decision on granting the loan. Between the heads of condominiums and the Association of Energy Efficient Cities, agreements will be concluded on regular contributions, which will be paid to the city's account.

According to Olha Havelia, there are already applications from condominiums in the amount of over 1.5 million hryvnias to participate in the program.

According to Haveli, other Ukrainian cities, such as Chortkiv, Kovel and Lviv, already have a positive experience of implementing revolving funds. These cities have successfully implemented a number of energy efficiency measures and have become role models.

«We also want to join this program, because it is an effective financial tool. This will allow us to expand our «Warm Mykolaiv» program, which helps residents to modernize their houses, solve the issue of capital repairs and reduce energy consumption,» said Havelia.

The program also provides for the involvement of external donors who will co-finance the projects. If the city successfully implements energy efficiency measures, donors can contribute to the financing by providing additional funds.

«Donors who cooperate with the Association of Energy-Efficient Cities, they conduct an analysis of energy-efficient measures, and also look at the dynamics of this process and contribute their funds. That is, if they see that the city is going again with some energy-efficient implementations, they join in the same amount as we invest, for example, we ask for 3 million for these measures, so they join in the amount of 3 million, but after a year. That is, there are already such projects that received additional financial assistance from donors specifically for energy-efficient measures,» added Olha Havelia.

We will remind that in 2023 in Mykolaiv they planned to create a revolving fund for financing condominiums, the funds from which will be allocated for restoration projects. It was planned that international organizations and foundations would become sources of funding for the revolving fund. It is noted that the Mykolaiv Development Agency, together with the housing and communal services department, is actively working to attract funding from donor organizations.