Households and associations of home owners in Bulgaria will be allowed to apply for loans with the possibility to recover up to 35 per cent of the amount to repair their homes and improve their energy efficiency.

The loans will be provided by July 2014 as part of the new stage of the Residential Energy Efficiency Credit (REECL) programme of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund, EBRD's head for Bulgaria, Daniel Berg, said during a presentation of the scheme on September 14.

Since August 2011, EBRD's partners in the country, ProCredit Bank and Raiffeisenbank, have extended more than 600 loans worth a combined one million euro for housing improvements aimed at increasing energy efficiency such as energy saving windows, exterior wall insulation, refurbishment of substations and deployment of solar collectors, biomass boilers and gas boilers.

EBRD has earmarked a total 40 million euro for loans to be extended as part of the mechanism, while the Kozloduy Fund will grant 14 million euro.