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On 15 September, the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project), Odesa Oblast State Administration and Odesa Oblast Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding on partnership regarding energy efficiency improvement and promoting the use of clean energy sources. The USAID Project will work with at least five cities in the region and assist them in planning, managing, and financing the development of activities related to clean energy and energy efficiency projects. |
| On Sunday, September 25, the second season of the Your Home TV program begins at 4.00 p.m. on the UA:PERSHYI TV channel. The program was created with support of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project). Every Sunday, the viewers of the TV channel, which covers the whole territory of Ukraine, will receive answers to burning questions about the management of their housing. In the new season, the creative team of the program, together with the USAID Project, created 15-minute episodes telling real stories of those who started creating condominiums and modernizing their buildings. In the first episode, we will show step-by-step the initiative taken by a group from one of Kyiv’s multi-apartment buildings towards establishing a condominium. Their experience and our practical tips will help avoid numerous obstacles and create a condominium as soon as possible. So, watch the Your Home program and you will definitely receive information that will help you make correct decisions. |
| Just in late October, the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) team launched the program "Your Home" on the national UA:PERSHYI TV Channel. And now it is broadcast on six national and regional channels, four of which joined last month. Only on UA:PERSHYI TV Channel, the program was viewed by more than 2.5 million viewers. The USAID Project experts, together with reporters of "Ekonomichnyi Visnyk" studio, have produced in four months 17 episodes of the TV program, and were able to answer more than 50 questions touching on every viewer. Eight more episodes are coming, and their topics will be very important too. We were able to explain to the Ukrainians in simple terms how to insulate a building, why tariffs grow up, and how to reduce expenses for communal services. We explained to whom one can entrust management of the house, and how to receive a housing subsidy. And this is not a full list of socially important topics that are covered in every episode by the journalists and experts. If you missed the first programs, do not worry! You can always watch them on our official webpage on our YouTube Channel and on our website. |
The Project includes four major activities:
- Improvement of regulatory and legislative enabling environments for energy efficiency and clean energy;
- Promotion of energy planning, investments in energy saving technologies and use of renewable energy sources;
- Capacity building for the government and non-government organizations with respect to energy efficiency, renewable sources and emission reduction; and
- Enhancement of capacity for the Government of Ukraine in development and introduction of low emission development strategies.
ACTIVITY 4
UKRAINE’S LOW EMISSION DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
The USAID Project provided technical support to the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine (hereinafter – Minecology) according to a Memorandum of Understanding and Work Plan on formation and implementation of state policy in climate change and low emission development of Ukraine.
The USAID Project provided support in formation of state policy in climate change. Two important regulatory and legal acts on climate change were drafted and approved by the Government of Ukraine during the Project:
- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “Concept for Implementation of State Policy in Climate Change through 2030”;
- Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “Action Plan on Implementation of the “Concept for Implementation of State Policy in Climate Change through 2030”; and
- Supporting documents for the resolutions and support for the process of public discussion and approval by the central executive power bodies.
These regulatory and legal acts for the first time since Ukraine’s independence outlined the problem of climate change at the national level and identified the ways to solve it.
In early 2015, the USAID Project, together with the Minecology, initiated development of the Low Emission Development Strategy of Ukraine through 2050 (hereinafter – the Strategy) in fulfillment of the provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Supported by the American Center for Climatic Strategies Inc. (CCS), a global leader in formation of goals and targets for low emission development, the experts from the Minecology and experts from the USAID Project launched and implemented an inclusive and transparent process for development of the Strategy, with involvement of a wide range of stakeholders. Over the course of nearly three years, more than 700 stakeholders – representatives of the government, central executive power bodies, civil and expert communities, science and business – were involved in the work on the document. In September 2017, the long-term strategic document - the National Low Emission Development Strategy of Ukraine through 2050 was presented at the Third Conference on Low Emission Development, and it was published on the official website of the Minecology for public discussion. This is the first long-term strategic document in Ukraine that models low emission economic development through 2050.
It should be noted that the Strategy was developed in accordance with the provisions of the Paris Agreement, which the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was one of the first in the world to ratify in July 2016.
Six technical working groups were set up for development of the Strategy, they included 140 specialists in the sectors of:
- energy supply;
- energy consumption in industry;
- energy consumption in HCS;
- transport;
- waste management; and
- agriculture and forestry.
An important part of the Strategy development process was modelling and forecasting of low emission development scenarios using the national model TIMES-Ukraine created by the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on the basis of the world-renowned model TIMES/MARKAL with support of the USAID.
The USAID Project implemented the following activities:
- the Low Emission Development Strategy of Ukraine through 2050 was developed, and completed development of the Catalogue of National Policies and Low Emission Development Measures;
- the National GHG Inventory and GHG Absorption System Enhancement Plan of Ukraine was developed, support in the preparation and development of the Annual National GHG and GHG Absorption Inventory in Ukraine in 1990-2014 is provided as well (can be found here);
- a package of by-laws was developed for the creation of the system for monitoring, reporting, and verifying of GHG in Ukraine, including the following documents: Rules for Monitoring Reports Verification; Rules for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) – General Methodological Recommendations for the Plants;
- forecast scenarios developed on the Energy Sector Section developed for the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution of Ukraine to the Paris Agreement and for the Energy Strategy of Ukraine through 2035. Support provided for the process of public consultations and approval by the central executive power bodies of the draft Intended Nationally Determined Contribution of Ukraine (can be found here and here);
- a training program implemented on the monitoring, reporting and verification system for the cement industry in cooperation with the national sectoral association “Ukrcement”, as well as a training program on GHG monitoring, reporting and verification in three partner cities for the communal energy sector in cooperation with municipal executive power bodies;
- the Manual on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions developed and printed;
- the “Manual for Technology Needs Assessment for the Municipal Sector” developed and printed;
- materials of the relevant EU provisions regarding the monitoring, reporting and verification system developed and printed; (materials can be found here: Rules for Verification of Operator’s Monitoring Reports; Rules for Monitoring Reports Verification);
- Methodology for calculation of GHG emissions for Bio Fuels and Bio Liquids developed according to provisions of the EU Directive 2009/28/EU, Annex V, as part of cooperation with the State Agency for Energy Efficiency; and
- The Ukrainian electronic platform on Low Emission Development Strategy created.
| Recently, the Project designed a series of leaflets devoted to receiving housing subsidies. For example, you can find answers to questions such as: what is a subsidy, the amount of services it is appointed for, what is the mandatory portion of payment for services, what is the procedure for obtaining subsidy, and many others. You can view the leaflets here. In addition, the Project created an online “Subsidy Calculator”. With its help, every Ukrainian can very precisely and easily calculate the amount of his/her subsidy. To do so, one needs to enter the following data: household composition and income, dwelling space, tariffs for communal services and the way they are provided, and existence of privileges. You can use the calculator here. |
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Another three partner cities of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID project) have conducted public hearings on their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs). In February, the mayors of Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi presented their plans for discussion by the public, and in March public hearings were held in Rivne. These SEAPs are developed by the municipalities participating in the European initiative “Covenant of Mayors” for resolving of the current global environmental and energy problems (exhaustible fossil energy resources, greenhouse effect and related adverse climate change, etc.). Every city includes in its plan a number of investment projects focused on promoting the reduction of СО2 emissions and reduction of energy consumption by the city. For example, 36 energy efficiency projects were proposed in Ternopil with a total expected energy savings of 679,396.79 MW•h/year. Ternopil plans to reduce СО2 emission in 2020 by 22.15% due to the implementation of its SEAP. Read more<< |
| Нещодавно експерти Проекту USAID "Муніципальна енергетична реформа в Україні" розробили серію листівок присвячених актуальним питанням отримання житлових субсидій. Так, в них можна знайти відповідь на такі питання як: що таке субсидія, на який обсяг послуг вона призначається, що таке обов’язкова частка плати за послуги, який порядок оформлення субсидії та багато іншого. Переглянути листівки можна тут. Крім того експерти створили он-лайн "Калькулятор субсидії". З його допомогою кожний українець може максимально точно та просто розрахувати розмір своєї субсидії. Для цього необхідно ввести наступні дані: склад та доходи сім'ї, площу приміщення, тарифи на комунальні послуги та спосіб їх надання, наявність пільг. Скористатись калькулятором можна тут. |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID project) presents "Best Affordable Technologies for Housing and Communal Services Sector of Ukraine", which is its guidelines on technology selection. The manual covers the best technologies that can be introduced in the housing and communal services sector for increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy resources consumption. Every description includes a brief overview and the principles of operation, principles of the energy saving equipment, its key technical and economic parameters, advantages and deficiencies, as well as its area of application, criteria for selection and implementation. First of all, the manual will be interesting to developers of energy saving projects and representatives of city authorities who are directly making decisions on selecting the best technologies in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. You can download the manual here. |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project) in cooperation with the State Agency for Energy Efficiency (SAEE) has launched the “Insulate Correctly!” media campaign. This continues the Project’s information campaign on energy efficiency and alternative energy sources. USAID Project partner in the regions is BigMedia company, sale house of BigBoard Ukraine, leader in the market of outdoor advertising. Already at the beginning of 2016, the residents of MERP partner cities have seen new billboards in their streets. The billboards encourage Ukrainians to implement energy efficiency measures in their buildings, i.e.: to install meters, thermal modernization, and and participating in the state program, which supports energy efficiency projects. You can find more details about these and other measures on our website, on website of Ministry of Regional Development,Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine as well as on website of the State Agency for Energy Efficiency of Ukraine. In addition, the Project website contains information on the establishment of condominiums. Experience shows that it is much easier to improve the heat insulation of buildings in a community of responsible owners. |
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In late March, Kyiv hosted a two-day training seminar that was attended by over 60 representatives of Home Owner Associations (HOAs) and Clean Energy Resource Centersfrom 12 Ukrainian cities. All these centers were established with support of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project). Vira Illiash, Director of Communications and Government Relations of the USAID Project, said at the opening of the seminar: "Resource Centers are first of all people! Bright personalities, concerned citizens, responsible owners, talented organizers, people who understand their role in the society and have chosen an active and honest position – to be responsible for their own comfort and well-being. We appreciate what you are doing in your cities and we are prepared to further promote your activities. We believe that this will allow us together with you to change the attitude of Ukrainians to their homes and to make them more conscientious and responsible. Read more<< |
| On December 15, USAID MER Project held a seminar "Benchmarking in District Water Supply and Sewage. Benchmarking System Development and Key Aspects in Use of Its Results”. Almost 40 representatives of district water supply and sewage utilities, National Energy and Communal Services Regulatory Commission and KSCA took part in the seminar. USAID MERP experts told the audience about the essence and importance of the benchmarking concept in state regulation, its advantages and structure of the implementation process. The participants learnt about the international and European experience in application of benchmarking in the sector of water and sewage, as well as the current state and prospects of its implementation in Ukraine. In addition, the experts presented key directions and mechanism of benchmarking results application in district water supply and sewage sector of Ukraine. At the end of the seminar, the participants discussed together with the experts and developed their own proposals on implementation of international experience in benchmarking in Ukraine. This workshop is closely related to the previous workshop on incentive regulation, since the benchmarking system allows to accumulate the data required for introduction of incentive regulation. |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project is prepared to assist the pilot cities in developing applications for loans on special terms (interest rate of about 1.31% per annum in Euro) from the European Investment Bank for communal infrastructure modernization. ATTENTION! The deadline for submitting proposals to participate in joint projects with the European Investment Bank’s “Program on the Development of Ukraine’s Municipal Infrastructure” was extended till 15 March 2016. Loan provision terms envisage financing of investment projects in the heating, water supply, and sewage sectors; improving building energy efficiency, street lighting and solid waste management. Read more<< |
| USAID MERP experts conducted a seminar on December 8 “Concept for Tariff Setting System in District Heating, Water Supply and Sewage on Principles of Incentive Regulation – International Experience and Current Issues for Ukraine”. The event was attended by 65 specialists, including 40 representatives of business entities in the sectors of district heating, water supply and sewage, and 25 specialists of the National Energy and Communal Services Regulatory Commission. During the seminar, USAID MERP experts told about essence of the tariff setting system on the basis of incentive regulation, international experience of its implementation, identifying the regulatory asset base and cost of capital, etc. The experts also discussed with the seminar participants the prerequisites and regulatory framework necessary for implementation of this system in Ukraine, and made a brief overview of international consultants’ comments on the draft Concept for Introduction of Incentive Regulation in Ukraine developed by MERP. Participants also received information on the legal, technological and other types of unbundling by types of activities, including the concept and practice of unbundled accounting. Together with the experts, the participants discussed proposed amendments to the existing regulations on incentive regulation, as well as evaluation of assets as a necessary prerequisite for introduction of incentive tariff setting in Ukraine. The subject of incentive regulation is becoming more and more important. In particular, the Commission is taking certain steps for its implementation in the energy sector, while it is planned to introduce it in the district heating, water and sewage sectors in a few years, and this time will be used for preparation. |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project (USAID Project) is ready to provide assistance to pilot cities in taking out loans for implementing energy efficiency projects in the public buildings sector. The Project will conduct energy audits of the kindergartens, schools and hospitals selected by each city, and will assist the cities in negotiations with international financial institutions. In addition to loans, the cities will also be able to receive grants from the E5P Fund. The Project will provide expert support in the preparation of the necessary documents. Similar technical assistance was provided by the USAID Project to Lutsk and Khmelnytskyi in 2015. Through the development of business plans, the Project helped these cities receive loans from the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) as well as grants: The business plan “Energy Efficiency Improvement in Public Buildings of Lutsk” was developed for Lutsk. It covered 8 public buildings. Read more<< |
| Kyiv hosted the second seminar "Basic Requirements of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification System for Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Ukraine" on December 16-17 for cement producers in Ukraine. The event was organized by the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project and the Ukrainian Association of Cement Industry Enterprises and Organizations "Ukrcement". When opening the seminar, Vladyslav Venzhyn, Director of Climate Policy Department at the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, spoke about the state of drafting of the legal framework that should regulate domestic emission trading system in Ukraine. He also invited the companies to participate in an open working group at the Ministry dedicated to this issue. Participants of the seminar presented their draft plans for emission monitoring which they developed for their companies. USAID MERP experts provided comments and recommendations, according to which the participants have to finalize their plans. Experts also told the audience about assessment of potential risks and uncertainties that participants must also take into account in the monitoring plans. The updated plans will be presented in February at the final seminar. |
| The USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project (USAID Project) will assist the partner cities in receiving private investments for the implementation of clean energy projects. The assistance package includes: support in the preparation of clean energy projects under public-private partnership (PPP) terms: conducting energy audits, preparation of pre-feasibility studies and development of PPP concepts for clean energy projects, discussions with the stakeholders; preparation of the package of documents required for implementing PPP clean energy projects; organizing and holding public hearings regarding PPP implementation in the city; conducting trainings for local specialists; and advisory support for the process of PPP clean energy project implementation, etc. The USAID Project has assessed the readiness of 17 partner cities to implement PPP clean energy projects. A competitive selection of the projects/cities was conducted in two phases. Read more<< |
| Over 120 journalists from 15 of Ukraine’s oblasts took part in a series of workshops called “Energy Efficiency and the Social Protection of the Populace in Conditions of Growing Tariffs for Media”. The seminars were organized by the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in cooperation with the Center for Ukrainian Reform Education and with sponsorship of the largest private gas extraction company of Ukraine Burisma Holdings. The Project experts are confident that it is important now to teach the Ukrainians how to consume available energy resources, and to change mentality towards responsible and energy saving behavior. And it should start with those who form the public opinion – the journalists. USAID MERP experts conducted two-day trainings for the journalists regarding energy efficiency in residential buildings, the energy potential of Ukraine, alternative energy sources, reasons of tariff increases, the government’s instruments for the social safety net, as well as about condominiums and programs on lending for energy efficiency in the residential sector. The experts believe that after the trainings the journalists will be able to cover these subjects in their articles, radio and TV programs more positively, responsibly and without partiality. |