Mayors agreed with Mikhail Slobodin of Integrated Energy Systems, ’s largest private sector district heating provider, who argued that the energy sector requires long-term loans for modernisation that will yield energy savings. “EBRD is one of the few lenders providing long-term loans,” said Mr Slobodin. “Long-term loans are the best incentive for municipalities to develop energy efficiency projects. Thus municipalities experiencing financial constraints don’t have to throw the burden of paying short-term loans on to the customers,” he added. 

“It’s a burden for municipalities, particularly in small cities, to invest in energy saving projects. Most importantly, municipalities experience financial constraints based on restrictions to adjust tariffs,” said Alexander Sidorov, Mayor of the Siberian city of Surgut.

In a pioneer programme, the EBRD has provided Surgut municipality with a 700 million rouble (€20 million) loan to finance four new residential buildings, and to knock down two old concrete panel buildings. The new buildings will be safer, warmer, and 30 per cent more energy efficient. And there is more to this project than the energy efficiency aspect. Of the 800 new apartments, up to 25 per cent will be reserved for lower-income families.

The need to improve buildings was echoed around the podium. “We also want to do more by cutting down energy lost in heating public buildings,” commented Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of the city of Kazan in ’s Republic of Tatarstan where the EBRD’s 2007 Annual Meeting was held in mid-May.