As many as 32,000 vulnerable families will have access to EcoVouchers for household appliances provided with funding from the Government of Norway within a new edition of the program launched on Wednesday. More than 7,800 beneficiaries notified on Wednesday that they received a voucher can go with their identity card to partner stores. The social workers who registered the persons in the information system to get compensations are also to be notified. The value of a voucher is 6,000 lei, IPN reports.
At a press conference, the director of the National Center for Sustainable Energy (NCSE) Ion Muntean said that there are changes to the eligibility characteristics of the equipment. The most important change is the exclusion of washing machines with energy class B as the population gives priority to more efficient washing machines, of class A.
There are still two options for obtaining new equipment. The eligible consumer goes to the store only with the identity card and, if they want to hand over the old equipment, they can do it directly there, or they can send a photo to the store's consultants and plan the delivery of the new equipment to the home, the moment when the old equipment will be taken, explained the director.
Minister of Energy Dorin Junghietu said that the current edition of the program is financed by Norway, with an estimated budget of €7.5 million, allocated through the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Project in the Republic of Moldova (E4M), initiated by the Government of Germany and implemented by GIZ Moldova.
"This program will offer vulnerable households the opportunity to reduce electricity consumption and costs, by replacing old appliances with new, energy-efficient equipment. Thus, this EcoVoucher program represents a concrete step towards more efficient energy consumption, contributing both to reducing the financial burden for vulnerable families and to increasing the energy sustainability of the entire country," stressed the minister.
Head of the Norwegian Embassy Office in Chisinau Kamilla H. Kolshus said that Norway is happy to be a reliable and supportive partner for the Republic of Moldova in the energy field, and the new round of EcoVouchers is part of this support. The diplomat expressed her conviction that this program will have an impact not only on saving energy, but will also reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.
The session launched on Wednesday will expire on March 23. In order to prevent possible inconveniences and queues, beneficiaries are advised not to leave the voucher redemption for the last day. The green line of the National Center for Sustainable Energy, 0-8005-5005, remains open for details about the program.
