The competitive selection to participate in the network for the development of municipal energy plans and experience exchange in this area has been completed. 48 municipalities together with U-LEAD experts will develop their own ways to form an energy security system and organise them into a single document.
This cooperation will take place within the framework of the experience exchange network "Development of a Municipal Energy Plan" - a six-month support programme for municipalities willing to develop a municipal energy plan and create horizontal links with other participants.
During the first kick-off meeting with the winning municipalities, they discussed the opportunities the network would provide them. The meeting was organised to get the participants acquainted with the energy planning documents according to regulatory acts and define their role in this process.
Olena Tomnyuk, Deputy Head of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme, congratulated the winning municipalities and stressed the continued U-LEAD support to municipal capacity building. According to her, during the war, the Programme introduced three new initiatives on security issues, among them the creation of an energy security system in municipalities.
"We offer a new format of cooperation to municipalities - the development of municipal energy plans. This is the first time in Ukraine that such a document is being developed with the support of the Ministry for Restoration. The experts working with the municipalities are members of the working group on energy security in the relevant ministry. While working with municipalities on such a document, we also get model plans that can serve further as examples for other municipalities."
According to Yuliya Molodozhen, Head of the Energy Security Working Group, Head of the U-LEAD with Europe Regional Office in Odesa Oblast, 147 municipalities from all Ukrainian oblasts applied for participation in the network. 48 of them won and are about to start working on this new document for Ukraine.
What can the network members do?
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get advice and recommendations from experts on the development of a municipal energy plan (MEP), which is a mandatory document under the Law of Ukraine "On Energy Efficiency";
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exchange experience and ideas on how to create a municipal energy security system, considering the specifics of their territory;
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to acquire skills and knowledge in the field of implementing measures aimed at municipal energy independence;
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establish contacts with colleagues for possible cooperation.
What kind of programme assistance will the participants receive?
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together with experts, they will go step by step through the entire process of developing a municipal energy plan according to the methodology developed by the relevant ministry;
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learn to analyse the state of their municipality's energy resources and set goals to increase their energy independence;
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develop practical comprehensive measures to form an energy security system;
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gain knowledge and skills on the specifics of writing projects for donor assistance in the energy sector.
Yulia Molodozhen also noted that the development of municipal energy plans is currently an urgent topic for municipalities, as the Law of Ukraine "On Energy Efficiency" was adopted in November 2021, and its final provisions state that all municipalities must have a local energy plan three years after its entry into force. This document is being developed for 10 years with the aim to ensure sustainable energy development of municipalities and oblasts.
The network will involve municipalities from 18 oblasts:
Vinnytsia Oblast - Ladyzhynska;
Volyn Oblast - Ivanchychivska, Poromivska;
Dnipro Oblast - Mezhivska, Novopokrovska, Chumakivska;
Zakarpattia Oblast - Kolochavska, Neresnytska;
Ivano-Frankivsk - Bogorodchanska, Burshtynska, Vyhodska, Nadvirnianska, Rohatynska, Rozhnyativska;
Kyiv - Berezanska, Buchanska, Obukhivska, Tarashchanska;
Lviv - Hnizdychivska, Morshynska, Starosambirska;
Mykolaiv - Koblivska, Myhiivska;
Poltava - Pryshybska, Tereshkivska;
Rivne - Ostrozhetska;
Sumy - Bilopilska, Velykopysarivska, Hlukhivska;
Ternopil - Zbarazhka, Mykulynetska;
Kharkiv - Iziumska, Bohodukhivska;
Kherson - Novovorontsovska;
Khmelnytskyi - Volochyska, Dunayevetska, Novoushytska, Poninkivska, Teofipolska, Shepetivska;
Cherkasy - Vatutynska, Zvenyhorodska, Kanivska, Katerynopilska, Mliivska, Chyhyrynska;
Chernivtsi - Kamianetska;
Chernihiv - Horodnyanska.