Dnipro
Dnipro is the oblast center of Dnipropetrovsk region. Dnipro is the third largest city in population in Ukraine. As of 1 January 2014, its population is 995,500 persons. The area of the city is 405 km2.
The enterprises, institutions and organizations of different forms of ownership in Dnipro for over 10 years are implementing the energy saving and energy efficiency programs. According to the published report, the municipal budget allocated in 2015 UAH 4,662.386 th. to finance energy saving measures (expenditures in 2014 were UAH 192,000 th.). Due to implementation of the energy efficiency measures in 2015, the city saved UAH 87 mln. or about 24 th. tons of equivalent fuel.
The city is working with a number of international financial institutions. Among them, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) and others. For three years, Dnipro is implementing the pilot projects together with the EBRD to improve energy efficiency in public buildings of the city through implementation of the projects based on "Energy Performance Contracting".
In 2011, the city signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the USAID Municipal Heating Reform Project in Ukraine, within the framework of which the City Council has developed and adopted the “Municipal Energy Plan of Dnipropetrovsk for 2012-2015" (MEP).
In 2014, cooperation between the city and the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (hereinafter – the USAID Project) started. The memorandum identified four main areas of work for improvement of the municipal energy efficiency and raising funds to finance the relevant measures:
1) development or improvement of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP);
2) improvement of the energy management system;
3) assistance in attracting investments; and
4) conducting information campaign.
With the support of the USAID Project, Dnipro is fulfilling all the necessary procedures to join the Covenant of Mayors – a major initiative of the European Commission on sustainable development, whose signatories commit themselves to reduce their CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020, thus contributing to the development of environmentally oriented economy and improved quality of life.