Our Story
A fortunate circumstance was Croatia’s accession to the Intelligent Energy for Europe program, which had a funding call for establishing energy agencies. In March 2006, the signal from Brussels was more important than the financial aspect—the signal that energy agencies were a mechanism recognized and encouraged by the EU. Looking back, the whole process of establishing the Agency seems like a grand adventure. From the beginning, we were ambitious and decided to create a joint institution for the territory of four founding entities—the City of Zagreb and the Counties of Zagreb, Karlovac, and Krapina-Zagorje.
The preparation process leading to formal establishment lasted about two years. However, in the early years, I felt like a runner with leaden legs—that feeling when you try to run in a dream but just can’t seem to move. The first few months were spent renting an office, procuring office furniture, hiring employees, and ensuring we didn’t run out of money while simultaneously building capacity. We learned as we went, every single day.
The first REGEA employee was hired on April 1, 2008, but we always celebrate June 13 as our anniversary—on that day in 2008, we held our first formal conference with our sister agency from Arc-de-Seine, France. There were six of us by the end of 2008, and by the summer of 2009, ten. For comparison—initial EU funding anticipated only four employees for the first three years of REGEA’s operations. Fortunately, the needs in the field and the projects we developed required a much different pace. Today, we have 53 employees.
Our first project was reconstructing a small section of public lighting in Klanjec. Even today, I see great symbolism in this—REGEA was founded to provide expert support to our counties, cities, and municipalities, and we genuinely strive to be their best friend. Today, we are working on a significant investment project: the reconstruction of the public lighting system in Zagreb, valued at over €50 million. Despite the opportunities of large EU projects and the glamour of European development and investment banks, we remain firmly connected to our base, helping and advising for the common good.
We have received numerous European and domestic awards, but we mostly hang them on the wall and move forward. It’s a great feeling to see a completed and realized project—something built, something tangible and concrete. I am proud that we were the first in Croatia to launch a program promoting renewable energy sources for citizens—this program has included as many as 10,000 households. I am also proud that we successfully launched a crowdfunding platform, realizing six campaigns that raised over 450,000 kuna.
Since our founding, we have increased the Agency’s budget by more than twentyfold. Although there have been difficult moments over the past ten years, we have always been driven by the belief that we are doing good and meaningful work.
REGEA can and should continue to grow, and we all still have much to learn. The energy sector is evolving rapidly, bringing significant changes in the coming years. Our role is clear—we must enable innovative solutions in Croatia and ensure that the energy transition is not just a concept but a reality. The future of energy is in universally available and entirely or mostly renewable sources. The future is low carbon, despite the challenges ahead. Renewable energy sources have never grown at such a rapid pace, and this trend is unstoppable. Our cars will become energy storage units, and many of us will be both consumers and producers of energy. Here, knowledge becomes crucial knowledge that we must possess to ensure that we do not remain just a country where the wealthy come to relax. Over the next five years, much will change, changes are happening faster than ever, and I can only hope we will rise to the challenge ahead.
dr.sc. Julije Domac, Director of REGEA
