To bring the idea and practicalities of energy efficiency to the general public, the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE) is organising an Energy Efficiency Forum from 10 to 13 November, in Kiev. Within the Forum, INOGATE will organise the workshop “Eco-design: the experience of the EU and first steps of Ukraine” focusing on past and current developments in eco-design in the EU, and on SAEE's current activities in this field. This workshop will also be an excellent opportunity to review the past and current work of SAEE on energy labelling. This will improve the visibility of the national labelling programme. Energy labelling has been a cornerstone of EU energy policy since 1992; the implementation of the energy labelling and eco-design directives is estimated to save 175 Mtoe of primary energy per year by 2020. Speakers will address how Ukraine can also achieve greater energy efficiency. Energy labelling is very important for consumers as it provides them with information on the relative energy performance of different product choices available on the market, so that energy efficiency can be considered as part of the buying decision.

A separate half-day workshop on “Awareness Raising for Energy Efficiency”, will be held on the same day for journalists who will improve their knowledge and capacity on reporting energy efficiency issues.

Finally, visitors of the VII International Investment Business Forum on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will have the opportunity to meet ITS representatives at the "expert zone", where ITS experts will be available to provide information and answer questions on EU and Ukrainian product policies, in particular energy labelling and eco-design.

For more info on this activity, please visit the section “VII International Investment Business Forum on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy”.

The EU-funded programme, INOGATE, in cooperation with the Support Group for Ukraine of the European Commission (SGUA) held its first Energy Policy Talk yesterday at the Hotel Kyiv, bringing together major players in the energy field to discuss short and long-term energy efficiency measures to address the needs of the vulnerable.  The event was based on elements resulting from the Roundtable held in the Rada on 15 June 2015 on how to support vulnerable consumers through energy efficiency.

Energy poverty is an issue in many countries of the European Union with various different measures available to enhance the energy efficiency of vulnerable customers. H E Ambassador Jan Tombinski, Head of the European Union Delegation, has emphasised this very important issue within the social dimension of energy: “EU sponsored Energy Policy Talks is about practical and concrete measures to address energy poverty and come up with solutions, which will result in lower energy costs and increased savings for most vulnerable consumers. We encourage Ukrainian policy makers and law-makers to act without delay in order to provide right incentives for consumers and greater individual control on the energy they use: either by regulating own energy consumption with temperature controls and meters. I also would like to encourage authorities to invest in activities which will result in greater awareness of energy use, which in turn would lead to greater energy efficiency and sustainable use of energy resources and environment". 

This intensive half-day event  brought together representatives of the Ukrainian Parliament, the EU Delegation, the SGUA, international  agencies, NGOs and users, providers and suppliers of energy, and other relevant stakeholders. HE Hennadiy Zubko, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development, Construction and Housing Services said: “Ukraine expects EU investments for RES development. We are looking for creation of the companies that are using technological and scientific achievements enabling to replace natural gas. Ukraine is ready to become production and logistics platform for markets of Eastern Europe and Asia.”

Also participating were  SGUA, and members of the governmental, para-governmental and private sectors. The moderated panel discussion featured members of various levels of government, international organisations, banks and energy providers. The conference concluded with legal, social, informational, financial and technical-economic recommendations for  measures to empower vulnerable citizens to take energy efficiency actions to reduce their energy costs.

Main final recommendations addressed to:

• Empower the coordination among Ministries and agencies, responsible in legislation and regulation
• Introduction of metering and consumption-based billing seems to be a top priority
• Modernization of method, size and intermediary for the management of the monetized  subsidies
• Determination of acceptable delay in transferring the subsidies and privileges to Home Association
• Provide high compensation rate for thermomodernisation  for vulnerable groups
• Establish Information campaigns to raise awareness the consumers on possible options for  installation of free gas meters needed.
• Setting a Fund for support of the energy efficiency in residential sector is needed.
• Extension of program supporting Energy Efficiency Support program, ran by the National Energy Efficiency State Agency

Future Energy Policy Talks will take place between November 2015 and March 2016 discussing tariff reform, energy efficiency in a liberalised market, third party access to the electricity network, public service obligations and consumer protection, unbundling of transmission and distributions systems, the promotion of renewable energy and how investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy can be stimulated.

More information about the event is available at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/Energy-Policy-Talks

On the photo: Head of Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, Mr. Jan Tombiński giving the opening speech, 3rd of November 2015

Georgia’s significant gas infrastructure, which was based on older Soviet GOST standards, is now being replaced and enlarged with a mix of US and EU standards. In trying to ensure that the new equipment complies with international best practice, the main challenge is an incomplete understanding of EN 1594, a standard which creates a basis for the safe and technologically smooth supply of gas for maximum operating pressure over 16 bar. This standard only provides a framework for the infrastructure and does not specify the characteristics needed for the design of the infrastructure itself. Users are applying the EN 1594 standard partially, and thus are not being fully compliant.

To address this gap, INOGATE technical experts held a workshop in Tbilisi on gas pipeline infrastructure standards and procedures for operation and maintenance with special focus on EN 1594. The importance of user understanding of this standard and its implementation was the focus of the workshop, with the introduction of international and European standards relevant to gas safety in countries such as Germany and the UK. The workshop emphasised EN 1594 as the main functional standard for the European natural gas transportation system, gave an overview of the operation of functional standards specifying basic requirements to the main gas supply elements, operation of standards for the main technological processes and key DVGW standards complementing EN 1594. It also provided recommendations on the procedure for adopting the operation and maintenance practices of these standards.

You can find more information about the Workshop on this page

On the photo: Dr. Petrenko gives his presentation on the Regional Workshop “Gas infrastructure. Pipelines for maximum operating pressure over 16 bar. Functional requirements”

The Energy Statistics Network, established in September 2012, and consisting of representatives from National Statistical Institutes (NSIs) and the Ministries of Energy of Partner Countries, will gather in Tbilisi in mid-November.

The ESN is a forum for constructive dialogue between energy statisticians and policy makers from different countries on energy statistics related issues as well as a platform for exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas on energy statistics. Ever since the beginning of ITS energy statistics activities, ESN representatives have been very pro-active partners in the implementation and monitoring of ITS activities on energy statistics in their respective countries. The ESN is now a well-established and well-recognized regional coordination tool in the field of energy statistics.

This meeting will be the last occasion for ESN members to meet before the end of the INOGATE Project in April 2016. A key objective of this meeting will be to carry out an impact assessment of energy statistics activities conducted by ITS since 2012 and during the extension period. ITS will work with ESN members to update both ESAP indicators and progress reports. The contours of the future EU technical assistance in the field of energy statistics and the development of evidence-based energy policies in the region will aslo be discussed.

The ESN meeting will also be the occasion for NSI representatives, to present the recent developments on energy statistics in their respective countries. Ministry representatives will be invited to share experiences on recent policy developments which involves energy statistics and energy balances, and how they are integrated in the development of policies in the energy sector. Finally, a few countries will present in more detail the work they are currently doing in a number of key areas such as Energy Balance Compilation (Geostat – Georgia), Monthly and prices energy statistics (National Bureau of Statistics - Moldova) or Energy Efficiency Indicators (Belstat – Belarus).

On the photo: meeting of Energy Statistics Network representatives in Zagreb 2014

INOGATE is helping Moldova to streamline its Energy Performance Contracts (EPCs), a financing mechanism to accelerate investment in energy-efficiency. Working through the Energy Efficiency Agency, the reform affects both primary and secondary legislation and includes the identification of potential obstacles as well as paving the way for the successful implementation of EPCs.  

Guidelines and a model EPC have been produced which will be transposed into the new Moldovan legislative framework and a methodology has been created for energy performance contracting. The proposals address both the public and private sectors. The Guidelines include a description, timing and budgets for the project; the Basis for the EPC Tender includes templates for calculations and contract agreements for the various phases and methods of calculating energy savings, as well as administrative instructions and supporting procurement documents. These documents and templates have been prepared in an evidence-based way to result in guaranteed energy savings for building owners.

These documents, prepared by ITS experts, are ready for adoption within full-fledged Energy Performance Contracts. The template includes rigid conditions and follow-up techniques so as to guarantee a pay-back on the building owner’s investment within the agreed time. The consequences of non-performance from the ESCO side are in keeping with European contractual norms. It is important to note that the assistance from the INOGATE project already yielded a major impact in a short period of time. In September 2015, the Steering Committee on ESCOs within the Moldovan Government adjusted the legislative proposals contained in the report to the requirements of the Moldovan legislation framework and officially submitted them for approval to the Public Procurement Agency.

These EPCs will permit a more accurate evaluation of energy-saving performance because it will be followed up by readings from energy meters, rather than being derived from speculative calculations, thus removing the possibility of manipulation of results.

The model will be gradually implemented in Moldova to give all stakeholders a chance to familiarize themselves with the experience; among them are EPC contractors (ESCOs), building owners, EPC consultants (at present part of the UNDP project), banks and other financiers and related government departments.

More information about the activity and the relevant documents, can be found on the website at “Organisation of operational framework for Energy Service Companies (ESCO)”