OREANDA-NEWS. November 27, 2014. The EBRD is launching ‘Energocredit’ in Azerbaijan, as part of the Caucasus Energy Efficiency Programme (CEEP), a USD 125 million credit line to local partner banks to boost the use of energy resources for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local businesses and households in Azerbaijan.

This facility is contributing to the EBRD’s Sustainable Energy Initiative, which supports the scaling-up of sustainable energy investments across the Bank’s region.

The official Energocredit launch ceremony takes place on 25 November 2014, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baku. The welcoming speeches will be delivered by Ambassador Anna Malena Mard, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan followed by Leander Treppel, the representative of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance, as well as Neil McKain, Head of the EBRD office in Baku.

The main objective of Energocredit is to help local financial institutions promote sustainable energy investments by their clients and to demonstrate the technical and financial benefits of such investments for private businesses and households.

Launched in 2007, CEEP aims to help industrial and residential clients reduce their energy intensity and make greater use of renewable energy sources. The facility is also supported by grant funding from the European Union Neighbourhood Investment Facility, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance as well as by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund. These grants will be used for technical assistance and investment incentives for successful sub-projects.

The EBRD has engaged a team of international consultants to provide support to local banks, firms and households with a dedicated technical package. This support will enable companies and homeowners to make the transition from using inefficient equipment and technologies towards better-performing, more energy-efficient facilities, which will gradually reduce energy bills over time.

Three local banks, DemirBank, Muganbank and AccessBank, have already benefited from the programme, and Unibank has also shown interest in Energocredit. AccessBank has directed resources it borrowed from the EBRD towards improving the energy efficiency of its head office building. DemirBank and Muganbank will on-lend their EBRD funding to local firms and retail clients to finance energy efficiency projects, and Unibank is considering joining the programme in the near future.

The consultancy team in Azerbaijan is led by Nazim Mamedov, with offices at 1 Badamdar Shosesi, House 35, Office 1, Baku AZ 1023. Further information is available at www.energocredit.az