EBRD promotes energy efficient investments in Georgia

Companies and private households in Georgia can now save more on their energy bills as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) offers the country a special credit line to promote energy efficiency.

Georgia’s Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri and EBRD representative Anders Lund signed an agreement at the end of last week which will see Georgia join the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P).

The E5P is a ˆ90 million multi-donor fund managed by the EBRD designed to promote energy efficiency investments in eastern European countries. The EBRD-Georgia agreement will let Georgia benefit from the fund’s energy efficiency loans.

The fund’s regional branch - Caucasus Energy Efficiency Program - provides credit lines totaling $125 million USD, which local partner banks can use to help people finance sustainable energy investments.

The EBRD said Georgia still was 50 percent more energy-intense than its trading partners. The organisation believed the initiative could make a real difference and significantly boost the country’s energy efficiency while reducing harmful emissions at the same time.

The program was supported by the European Union’s (EU) Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) which offered incentive payments to those who invested in energy efficiency. The Austrian Ministry of Finance funded consultants to advice potential borrowers on the best solution to reduce their energy consumption.

Furthermore, the Austrian funds supported local banks in Georgia to create sustainable lending products in the field of energy efficiency.

Meanwhile, those who contributed to the E5P were the EU, Sweden, Ukraine, the United States, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and the Czech Republic.

The amount Georgia will contribute to the fund has not yet been defined. (Agenda.ge)