In late November, VI National Condominium Forum was held in Lviv, with support of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine. Nearly 150 chairpersons of condominiums and management companies from all over Ukraine, representatives of the local authorities, and international organizations working in the energy and housing and communal services sectors took part. The Forum focused on the legal and regulatory framework for condominiums, energy efficiency in the residential sector, the role of resource centers in condominium development and management, the state program of partial compensation for loans and other types of funding for energy efficiency measures in multi-apartment buildings. On the first day of the Forum, the participants worked in groups on the recommendations on key aspects of condominium activities in Ukraine. Group moderators were the leading experts of international organizations working in the energy and housing and communal services sector. For instance, Oleksandr Nikolaienko, Sustainable Energy Manager of the USAID MER Project, was a moderator of the group working on implementing energy efficiency measures in multi-apartment buildings. The group recommended involving commercial banks in the state program for partially compensating loans for procuring energy-efficient equipment and implementing energy efficiency measures in buildings; to expand the list of energy-efficient equipment that can be purchased on credit; and to monitor the results of this program implementation. As for social support in the face of increasing tariffs, the group agreed that the State should ensure the timely payment of subsidies and their monetization in the future, conduct an enhanced information campaign and expand the social safety net, extending it to contributions to the renovation fund, to which the accrual of subsidies does not currently apply. Accomplishments of this and other groups were discussed the next day by the panel discussion participants, including representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, State Agency for Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and others. A Resolution based on the developed recommendations will be published and sent it to the State government for processing and implementation.
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