At the press conference, CNED Director Ion Muntean presented the results and strategic directions for the coming period, emphasizing that energy efficiency is becoming a real tool for social protection.
One of the most effective was the EcoVoucher program, designed to replace old household appliances with new energy-efficient equipment. In two years, more than 40,000 beneficiaries across the country have benefited from the program, saving about 8 million kWh per year, which is equivalent to almost 29.8 million lei per year on energy bills for beneficiary households. Each new piece of equipment purchased meant the utilization of an old device, which was collected and sent for recycling, thus contributing to waste reduction and environmental protection.
Ion Muntean announced that the EcoVoucher program will be continued in 2026, for which a budget of about MDL 40 million is planned. In this context, CNED aims to strengthen public awareness and mobilize additional resources to expand the project.
The Fund for Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings (FEERM) program supports housing renovation through three functional financial products designed for different categories of beneficiaries. These include support for tenants of high-rise buildings managed by homeowners’ associations, energy-independent households and homeowners investing in energy efficient solutions through the Casa Verde product.
For energy-independent households, the support covers 95% of the investment, of which 50% is financed by the European Union and Germany and 45% by the Energy Efficiency Fund. After a thorough identification and assessment process, 600 potential beneficiary households were selected. Currently, 41 houses have undergone energy efficiency renovations or are in the process of completion, and another 80 are under contract.
CNED plans to energy renovate at least 160 homes in 2026, providing continued support to households with the highest energy vulnerability.
The Casa Verde financial product, launched in summer 2025, supports energy efficiency investments through grants equal to 50% of the investment value, up to MDL 200,000. During the first call for proposals, 745 applications were submitted, of which 498 were approved. To date, 88 beneficiaries have been approved for the implementation phase of the works and 58 financing contracts have been signed.
The distribution of applications by status shows that 67% have been approved for contracting the services required for the preparation of analytical reports on the measures, 23% are at the stage of refinement, 8% have been rejected, and 2% have been returned for finalization. The primary reasons for rejected applications are related to the legal status of housing and ownership, including situations where the housing does not meet program criteria, is under construction, the permit has expired, or it is not operational. Beneficiaries can proceed to the implementation phase of the measures only after receiving approval from CNED and signing the financing agreement.
New funding calls are planned for 2026 with a budget of at least MDL 200 million, which will support more than 1,000 households across the country. It is worth mentioning that Casa Verde works exclusively through an online platform, ensuring transparency and constant communication with beneficiaries, as well as a clear process of evaluation and reimbursement of funds.
Regarding high-rise residential buildings, energy audits have been carried out for 72 apartment owners’ associations (APCs). For the renovation of 17 buildings, technical documentation is under preparation or has already been developed. The financing of projects worth about 40 million lei has been approved, and the first works will start soon.
Grants for the renovation of high-rise buildings cover 70% of the renovation costs, supplemented by additional subsidies of up to 90% for owners vulnerable to energy costs. A budget of more than LE 200 million is planned for 2026, of which about LE 47 million is earmarked for subsidies to vulnerable developers. CNED also plans to sign 44 contracts and start procurement procedures for 34 residential buildings, ensuring the continuity of the program.
At the same time, CNED is developing a financial product aimed at incentivizing the construction of energy efficient houses. The purpose of this mechanism is to test how the state can support families who want to build homes to high energy efficiency standards from the design stage.
Ion Muntean emphasized that the goals for the coming years include the renovation of at least 500 thousand m2 of heated area of residential buildings, with annual savings estimated at 66.3 GWh. It is also planned that of all the beneficiaries of the program, at least 50% will be focused on energy-consuming strata of the population, half of the program’s budget will be allocated to residents’ associations, and 50% of the renovated houses will be connected to the centralized heat supply system.
The National Center for Sustainable Energy (CNED) is a public institution whose mission is to coordinate and organize activities aimed at ensuring the implementation of public policies in its assigned areas of activity, including by attracting and managing financial resources to finance and promote projects and programs in the relevant areas in a sustainable manner in terms of environmental protection and climate change, as well as to promote energy security in the country
