Third Interregional Partner Workshop on REHEATEAST project

On March 5th and 6th 2025, Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM) organized Third Interregional Partner Workshop within the project „REHEATEAST - Building local partnerships for reducing the fossil energy demand of district heating systems in the Eastern Danube Region“ in the Interreg Danube Region Program.

Focus of this meeting was the implementation of pilot projects and exchange of experiences during the implemetation of activities for cooperation and optimisation models of DHC. Miodrag Gluščević, Program Director for Urban Development, Environment, and Communal Services at SCTM presented the pilot project that SCTM implements in cooperation with the Municipality of Priboj, one of the associated partners on the project REHEATEAST. He pointed out the issue of energy inefficiencies in this municipality due to outdated construction standards and poor maintenance, leading to high energy consumption, increased heating costs, reduced service quality, and higher greenhouse gas emissions. To improve living conditions, lower costs, and support green energy transition, energy renovations are urgently needed. Pilot project in Priboj explores the possibilities of financing the energy renovation of multi-apartment buildings through a public ESCO model – where DHC Toplana Priboj acts as the Energy Service Company (ESCO). In this model, DHC Toplana would finance the upfront costs of energy efficiency upgrades, which would then be repaid, either fully or partially, through the savings achieved in energy consumption and reduced heat energy bills for residents. This approach aligns costs with benefits, ensuring long-term savings for users while improving system efficiency and sustainability.

During Third Interregional Partner Workshop a study visit to public company Energetika doo Kragujevac was organized, which is also one of the associated partners in the project. The main activities of this company include city heating, technology of parts of "Zastava Group", heating process of parts of "Zastava Group", natural gas distribution, as well as the production and distribution of demineralized and decarbonized water.

The "REHEATEAST" project is implemented in cooperation with 11 project and 25 associated strategic partners from 11 countries of the Eastern Danube region, while the Pannon European Group of Territorial Cooperation from Hungary is the leading partner on the project.