At the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026, the majority of the 149 local government units and city municipalities, which the Ministry of Mining and Energy selected in September 2025, conducted public calls for co-financing the energy renovation of multi-family buildings and apartments. The calls were separate for socially vulnerable citizens and for other categories, and for the first time, socially vulnerable categories of citizens could apply in all municipalities and cities participating in the public call.
We have written about this extensive mechanism for allocating public funds several times. This time, we are also looking at how it is being implemented and what the available data tells us, and what it does not.
When attention increases
Recently, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Serbia have visited several local self-governments where citizens were ceremonially awarded (citizens in Serbia are awarded contracts) energy renovation contracts. According to information from the Ministry’s website, these are Bor, Kladovo, Lučani, Kula and Knjaževac, and the media also recorded a visit to Bajina Bašta.
These six places, as well as several other local self-governments and one city municipality, have one common characteristic: local elections are being held in them on March 29, 2026.
During periods when citizens’ attention is heightened, the visibility of the work of institutions suddenly increases. This time, that attention was also used to highlight the results of energy efficiency programs.
Assistance for socially vulnerable categories: available to everyone on paper
The 2025 public call for the first time allowed socially vulnerable categories of citizens to apply for subsidies in all municipalities and cities participating in the call. The funds for assistance to this category of citizens come entirely from the budget of the Republic.
Every household that met the conditions and applied within 45 days was entitled to a subsidy.
It seems that local self-governments had a strong motive to invite their most vulnerable citizens to apply. We eagerly await to see how much this invitation actually reached those for whom it was intended.
What we know – and what we don’t know
According to the Ministry website[1]:
- 52 households from the socially vulnerable category were supported in Kula and Knjaževac,
- In Kladovo, there are 12 households in this category.
For Lučani, Bor and Bajina Bašta, data on socially vulnerable beneficiaries were not published in the news either.
The websites of local self-governments reveal even less. In most cases, we were unable to find decisions on the allocation of subsidies on the websites of the mentioned municipalities.
A partial exception is the municipality of Kula, which published a list of beneficiaries from the category of “other citizens” in an easily accessible place, but not a list of 52 socially vulnerable beneficiaries of subsidies[2].
A shining example is the municipality of Kladovo. In their decisions, we see that 12 families received a subsidy, while another 14 applied but did not meet the conditions. The reasons are clear: the unresolved legal status of the facility, but also a misunderstanding of the competition conditions (for example, that socially vulnerable people, for reasons unknown and incomprehensible to us, cannot receive a subsidy for a solar power plant).[3].
This kind of data makes it possible to understand where the real obstacles are. Unfortunately, in most other cases, such data is not available.
Visibility is not the same as accessibility
In the coming days, we will present data on some risk factors for energy poverty in municipalities where elections are held.
In the meantime, it is worth recalling the broader context.
In Serbia, significant attention is currently being paid to the security of natural gas supply – to the extent that critical natural gas supply infrastructure is additionally provided by units of the Serbian Army.
At the same time, the largest number of energy-poor households do not use gas at all. For them, the issue of energy security looks different: can they afford heating, do they live in a building that can be renovated, and can they even access the public funds intended for it.
Therefore, it is crucial that public policies are not only visible but also truly accessible to those who need them most. And that data on the implementation of public policies be easily visible to everyone, so that we can judge their accessibility and improve it.
[1] https://www.mre.gov.rs/sekcija/41/2
[2] https://kula.rs/2025/11/28/javni-poziv-za-sufinansiranjemera-energetske-sanacije-porodicnih-kuca-i-stanova-na-teritoriji-opstine-kula-za-2025-godinu/ accessed on March 23 2026
[3] https://kladovo.org.rs/download/resenje-o-ispunjenosti-uslova-za-dodelu-bespovratnih-sredstava-za-sufinansiranje-mera-energetske-sanacije-porodicnih-kuca-i-stanova-u-okviru-projekta-jp-1-25-cista-energija-i-energetska-efikasnost-z-2/?wpdmdl=16844&refresh=69a1a2e6314f41772200678