Zaporizhzhia is the administrative, industrial and cultural center of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The total area of the city is330.99 km2. As of 1 January 2013, the population of the city was 768,900 persons.
The citycooperates with international financial institutions and projects from different countries. Zaporizhzhia partners United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Federation of Canadian Municipalities, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), Northern Environmental Financial Corporation (NEFCO), and others. The Economic Development Department of Zaporizhzhia City Council, contains the Energy Management Unit, which is charged with creating and implementing the city’s energy conservation and energy efficiency measures.
On 29 November 2013, Zaporizhzhiaofficially supported the leading initiative of the European Union – the Covenant of Mayors. The Covenant’s signatories commit to reduce their CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020, thus contributing to the development of an environmentally oriented economy and improved quality of life. On 27 June 2014, of the City Council adopted Resolution # 6, which is the Municipal Energy Plan (MEP) of Zaporizhzhia through 2030 – a document identified by its authors as “the strategy for energy reform of the city for 15 years”.
In 2014, after the signing of a Memorandum, 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 municipal energy efficiency improvement and raising funds to finance the relevant measures:
1) support in developing the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP);
2) improving the energy management system;