Completion of the Strengthening the capacity of electricity distributors in Slovenia project

On 14 January 2025, Ljubljana hosted the closing event of the “Strengthening the capacity of electricity distributors in Slovenia” project, financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which provides long-term loans for projects that support EU objectives. Owned by EU Member States, the EIB is a non-profit organisation working for sustainable economic growth, innovation and infrastructure development.

Slovenia's electricity distribution companies are securing investment funds from the EIB to support the energy transition, increase the capacity of the grid to integrate renewable resources and improve resilience to climate change. The Bank uses a variety of criteria to approve loans - from compliance with EU objectives, the financial value of the project, its technical and financial feasibility, to environmental and social sustainability.

In addition to financial reporting, the Bank requires non-financial reporting to demonstrate compliance with 11 environmental and social standards by recipients of financial resources. The project, which ran from May to September 2024, aimed to help establish non-financial reporting on compliance with these standards.

Dr Maja Ivanovski, Mag Maša Djurica, Dr Katarina Ana Lestan, Ana Cerk, Dr Rudi Vončina, Damjan Kovačič and Erik Marčenko, each in their specific field of expertise, contributed with their in-depth knowledge and experience to different aspects of the project.

The event brought together participants to share experiences, including challenges and achievements in implementing environmentally friendly and socially responsible practices in the electricity sector. Through vulnerability analysis of environmental and natural assets and climate resilience analyses, Dr Rudi Vončina presented the new challenges that sustainable finance and sustainability reporting bring to the daily work of engineers.