Voucher program for home appliances launched in Chișinău. How much will citizens receive for purchasing newequipment?

Over 7,700 citizens will be able to access vouchers for replacing their old and worn-out household appliances with new, more energy-efficient ones. This is made possible through the Voucher Program for Home Appliances, launched today in Chișinău. The voucher distribution period will last for three weeks, until October 20, and the authorities have allocated over 54 million lei for this purpose.

Citizens who registered last year on the platform compensații.gov.md and were classified as being in the extreme energy vulnerability category will receive a voucher worth up to 7,000 lei, covering up to 70% of the appliance’s price. This money can be used to purchase large household appliances, such as refrigerators or washing machines. In exchange, beneficiaries will be required to hand in their old appliances from the same category, which will be recycled.

Energy Minister Victor Parlicov emphasized that this program is part of the government’s broader efforts to support vulnerable consumers, improve energy efficiency, reduce household costs, and contribute to achieving environmental goals.

“Not only the tariff defines the bill, but also how efficiently energy is used. We aim to help those consumers who are extremely energy vulnerable and have energy-consuming appliances to replace their old equipment with new, energy-efficient ones. The government will cover a significant part of the equipment’s cost, or even the full value in some cases. We want to see that as a result of this program, beneficiaries’ bills decrease while maintaining or even improving their comfort level,” explained Victor Parlicov.

Ion Muntean, Director of the National Center for Sustainable Energy, outlined the voucher redemption process. Beneficiaries will be notified via phone message or email. Additionally, the list of beneficiaries will be shared with the six retail chains partnering in the program.

The current voucher distribution session will last three weeks, until October 20. “The available budget is 54.4 million lei. The voucher value is 7,000 lei, but it cannot exceed 70% of the appliance’s cost. Based on these figures, 7,771 potential beneficiaries have been allocated electronic vouchers. When a beneficiary goes to one of the program’s partner stores, the operators can verify whether the person has a voucher or not. The redemption process is then initiated,” said Ion Muntean.

The program is managed by the National Center for Sustainable Energy, with support from the Ministry of Energy and funding from the state budget. In the long term, it will contribute to enhancing economic security, optimizing energy consumption, and reducing energy poverty by lowering household energy bills.

Last year, the Republic of Moldova implemented the pilot program “Rabla for Appliances,” through which many citizens received vouchers to replace their old equipment. The program had a budget of 5.8 million euros and was developed with financial support from the European Union and implemented by UNDP Moldova.