La Rioja closes appliance grants as 500,000 euros are exhausted

The Department of Economy, Innovation, Business and Self-Employment of the Government of La Rioja has announced the closing of the application period for the grant call for individuals for the renovation of low-energy consumption household appliances. The decision was made because the budget credit assigned to the call has been exhausted and is formalized in Resolution 463/2026, dated October 29, published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja number 210, dated October 30, 2026, with the official reference BOR-A-20261030-III–4091. The closure occurs one day before the deadline initially planned for the end of the period.

Origin of the aid and processing entity

The now-closed call was approved by Resolution 361/2026, dated July 29, published in the Official Gazette of La Rioja number 157, dated August 18, 2026, and was endowed with a total amount of 500,000 euros to finance the replacement of appliances with low-consumption models. Its reference in the National Grants Database is BDNS 922396.

The regulatory bases are Order STE 74/2021, dated November 17, from the Department of Sustainability, Ecological Transition and Government Spokesperson, modified by Order EIE/22/2024, dated April 16. Article 9 establishes the direct award regime “until the expiration of the Plan’s term established in the corresponding call Resolution or until the available credit is exhausted,” a clause that is now being activated.

According to section 5.b) of the call, the Plan’s term for receiving applications ran from September 1 to October 31, 2026, “unless the available credit had been exhausted.” The text added that the period could be extended only if the credit had not been exhausted, a possibility that ultimately does not apply.

The file: request from the employers’ association and technical proposal

The resolution outlines three facts supporting the closure:

• The grant call for the renovation of low-consumption household appliances, approved by Resolution 361/2026 and published on August 18.
• The request from the collaborating entity, the Federation of Businesses of La Rioja, to close the 2026 call “due to the exhaustion of the budget allocated to it.”
• The proposal from the General Directorate of Business, Energy and Internationalization dated October 28, 2026.

The resolution invokes as a basis, among other regulations, Law 8/2025, of December 29, on the General Budgets of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja for 2026; Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Law on Subsidies, and its regulation approved by Royal Decree 887/2006; Decree 14/2006, of February 16, regulating the legal regime of subsidies in the Riojan public sector; and Decree 15/2025, of March 11, on the organic structure of the department. The text is signed by the regional minister Belinda León Fernández, in Logroño, on October 29, 2026.

Which appliances are covered and how the discount worked

The call for applications detailed the eligible equipment in two blocks according to the applicable energy classification:

• With labeling from Directive 2010/30/EU: dryer A++ or higher, oven A+ or higher, induction hobs —induction technology only, not mixed— and extractor hoods A++ or higher.
• With the current classification of Regulation EU/2017/1369: refrigerator or fridge-freezer D or higher, freezer D or higher, washing machine B or higher, washer-dryer B or higher, and dishwasher D or higher.

The mechanism was direct at the point of sale: participating establishments had ten days from the publication of the summary to join and were required to provide the buyer with the application form, applying the corresponding subsidy discount to the final sale price, VAT included. The grant was processed under a direct award regime until the budget was exhausted and was disseminated through the National Subsidies Database and the Transparency Portal of La Rioja, with publication in the bulletin for grants exceeding 3,000 euros.

Appeal process and immediate effects

The resolution exhausts the administrative route. An optional appeal for reversal may be filed before the Regional Minister of Economy, Innovation, Business, and Self-Employment within one month from the day following its publication, in accordance with Law 39/2015, of October 1, or alternatively, a contentious-administrative appeal according to Law 29/1998, of July 13.

The closure renders the final part of the deadline practically void: Riojan households that had not yet submitted their application will not be able to avail themselves of the subsidy in this call, although the program will continue to pay out already registered requests until the credit is consumed. The allocation of 500,000 euros was consumed in less than two months of effective deadline, making this appliance renovation plan one of the consumer aid lines with the highest relative demand from the Department during the 2026 fiscal year.

Source: Official Gazette of La Rioja, no. 210, of October 30, 2026, section III, page 18436 (official reference: BOR-A-20261030-III–4091).