The Energy Efficiency Agency will become the National Center for Sustainable Energy on January 1, 2024. The Centre will manage the Residential Energy Efficiency Fund, which is a mechanism for financing public sector institutions, and also a series of public registers regarding energy efficiency and renewable energy statistics. A decision to this effect was approved by the Cabinet on Thursday, IPN reports.
The Residential Energy Efficiency Fund will provide funding for measures to reduce energy losses in housing, with financing mechanisms to be developed in the coming months. In this regard, there were selected 25 blocks where energy audits will be carried out and energy efficiency measures will be implemented next year.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the residential sector accounts for about 48% of gross final energy consumption, and energy performance, ie the volume of energy for maintaining one square meter of housing, is more than twice higher than the EU average. Most of the buildings were built according to Soviet standards, which do not take into account the size of energy losses. Up to 50% of energy supplied to households is wasted.
Besides investments in energy efficiency of residential and public buildings, the National Center for Sustainable Energy will also manage programs to replace old appliances with new, energy-efficient ones. The Rabla Domestic Appliances Program is being implemented on a trial basis, with the financial support of the European Union and UNDP. This will later be taken over by the National Center for Sustainable Energy.
Also, the institution will manage an information system in the field of energy efficiency, which will include statistics concerning energy efficiency of buildings in the country and the impact of the implemented measures. The National Center for Sustainable Energy will also be responsible for the qualification and supervision of energy auditors and checking of the quality of their services, the qualification of energy assessors who will issue energy performance certificates for buildings, the management of the electronic register of energy performance certificates of buildings.
