The results of the Experience Sharing Network on the development of municipal energy plans (hereafter MEP) were presented on December, 5. More than 100 representatives of municipalities and central executive authorities in charge of the energy sector, as well as experts, joined the event. It aimed to present the MEPs of municipalities and discuss problematic issues of the process of their development and subsequent implementation by municipalities of various types.
Oleksandr Butenko, Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, addressed the participants with a welcome speech. He emphasised the importance of energy planning as a component of municipal energy policy. It allows for analysing the current consumption and generation of various types of energy and planning the future energy development of the municipality based on the up-to-date situation, including limited resources, the vulnerability of the energy system and the urgent need to comply with energy efficiency obligations.
Viktor Bilko, Deputy Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, also gave a welcome speech. According to him, the opening of decarbonisation offices in the regions aims to promote the training of local energy management professionals.
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At the beginning of 2023, U-LEAD experts invited municipalities to participate in the Experience Sharing Network on the development of municipal energy plans, a strategic document that is a must for every municipality striving for energy self-sufficiency.
“When we planned our activities to strengthen municipalities in the field of energy security, we decided to conduct an experiment. What was it? There is a law that requires municipalities to have a municipal energy plan; there is a draft methodology of the Ministry of Infrastructure on how to develop it, and it has been submitted for public discussion. Together with municipalities and experts, we decided to test this draft methodology,” said Yuliia Molodozhen, Coordinator of the Energy Security Direction of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and Head of the regional office of U-LEAD in the Odesa Oblast.
48 municipalities were selected on a competitive basis. 30 of them will finish the year with a prepared draft document. And 100% of the participants have experience in developing MEP according to the methodology of the Ministry of Infrastructure, which should soon receive official status.
Participating municipalities differ in terms of their territory and population; there are rear municipalities, de-occupied ones and municipalities that are close to the front lines or at risk of hostilities. They were divided into four groups based on their specific nature and features.
Representatives of the municipalities of Poninka, Rohatyn, Velyka Pysarivka and Vyhoda shared their achievements at the presentation. It was noted that the participation in the Network, in addition to the developed MEP, allowed them to see the need to introduce energy management, including energy monitoring and the creation of the position of an energy manager in the municipality. And the most difficult thing was to start and obtain the first data for analytics.
Yet another result of the Network’s work will be recommendations for the Ministry of Infrastructure on improving the methodology developed by experts and participants. According to the participants, the following is necessary:
- Methodical support for municipalities in the development of MEP from the state or from donor projects;
- Understanding by energy companies of the importance of providing information on energy consumption and other indicators at the request of municipalities;
- Harmonisation of documents and development plans in various sectors with energy plans, which must also be harmonised at all levels;
- Adaptation of the methodology for municipalities that are close to hostilities and heavily affected by Russia’s invasion.
During the discussion, experts and representatives of the central executive authorities stressed that municipalities needed to plan the development of the MEP in such a way as to have a finished and approved document in November-December 2024. After all, according to the law, this document is mandatory.
In turn, Antonina Sytiuk, Acting Head of the Office of Methodological Support and Regulation of Energy Efficiency of the Department of Energy Efficiency of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, thanked municipalities and experts for the active involvement of municipalities and experts in the process of discussing the methodology for developing MEPs:
“We are very grateful to our permanent partners, U-LEAD and GIZ, who provided us with reliable support in testing the document that we prepared with our colleagues from the Reform Support Office of the Ministry of Infrastructure. This progressive and proactive position will help our municipalities to be prepared for the development of the MEP. Facilitated by U-LEAD and its experts, the pilot work allows us to make appropriate adjustments to the methodology, make it more perfect.”
Vadym Matkovskyi, Head of the Energy Efficiency Reform Direction of the Reform Support Office of the Ministry of Infrastructure, also joined in the discussion. According to him, it is difficult to address energy planning without implementing an energy management system:
“Two years after the entry into force of the Law “On Energy Efficiency”, state support will be provided only to those municipalities that have an energy management system in place.”
As he noted, an energy manager is a professional who knows everything about the municipality’s energy system, has a vision for the development of its energy self-sufficiency and security, offers and solutions for energy saving and optimisation. As for those municipalities that are unable to employ their own professional, the legislation will allow hiring a subcontractor. For small municipalities, this is one of the ways to attract energy management as well as grow their own professional and establish an effective system in the future.
For donors, partners and international technical assistance projects, the availability of MEP is evidence of purposeful development of the municipality and result-oriented actions.
“The document should not be generic or empty fluff. It should speak in figures and present an action plan to ensure the municipality’s energy sustainability,” said the experts.
Volodymyr Perehudov, Senior Coordinator of the project “Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Directive on Energy Efficiency in Ukraine”, GIZ, also joined the discussion. He presented GIZ’s Support Strategies for Energy Efficiency in Municipalities and emphasised MEPs as a tool for municipal development, which is a prerequisite for its sustainability.
