The ultimate proof that something is wrong in Serbia is the fact that the ones known as the champions of energy efficiency are now – the former champions. The ones who started with implementing energy efficiency measures first, even before they were incorporated in national legislation – are not in charge of implementing energy efficiency policy in their local administrations anymore.
“Putting energy efficiency first” – this is one of the goals of the “Clean Energy For All Europeans” legislative package, introduced by the EU Commission in 2016. Through implementation of this package, the energy sector of the EU should, by relying on renewable energy sources and energy efficiency, become more stable and sustainable, as well as to respond to the challenges of climate change, and, by doing so, generating new job opportunities. Parts of this package are currently on the negotiating table and are being agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council of the EU, before it will officially become a part of the binding legal framework.
The EU acquis eventually finds its way all the way from the downtown Brussels, to all cities and towns all across the EU and the candidate countries. While Serbia waits for the latest package to be wrapped up in Brussels and shipped towards Belgrade, it seems that we still haven’t opened the previous Brussels package yet.
The one we haven’t quite opened yet is the package containing the provisions of Energy Efficiency Directive, which is transposed into Serbian legislation through the Law on Efficient Use of energy. This Law is adopted with the aim of tightening up local energy policy in Serbia.
All local self-governments with population over 20 000 people were expected to appoint energy managers, start energy consumption data collection, implement energy efficiency measures and, most of all – comprehensive energy efficiency improvement projects. This Law was adopted in 2013.
Energy efficiency leaders in Serbia
Energy management system in Vrbas, for examples, was initiated back in 2008. Energy management office was established in 2011. Smart measures (which means – measures that did not require additional investments) related to accountable energy consumption alone, brought huge budget savings – up to 17% savings in energy consumption annually since 2010. In financial terms, that’s 10 million dinars worth of savings a year. Additional income for municipality was ensured through energy efficiency services provided by the Energy management office for third parties in the market. Good results brought new funds, since Swiss SECO granted a fund to the Vrbas Municipality for the project on renovation of schools and kindergartens.
The first step towards introducing energy management system in Šabac was done in 2003, through reconstructing of the Benska bara heating plant and interventions on district heating system. Seven years later, thermal insulation projects on private buildings, with financial support from the local government, were introduced as a response to introducing consumption-based charging system for the service of heating. To this day, 42 buildings, 40 individual household objects, with total of 85 000 square meters, were renovated. New works on reconstruction of public lighting system were done as well, so Šabac doesn’t have mercury vapor lamps in its public lighting system anymore. Through accountable management, the public heating plant is financially sustainable, with no subsidies form the local budget.
The municipality of Varvarin introduced energy management measures back in 2004, when a pilot project for public lighting rennovation was introduced. Shortly after the European Agency for Reconstruction provided funds for this project, authorities recognized the importance of implementing energy efficiency measures in other parts of loal energy sector. The projects including installation of heat pump in one elementary school, as well as solar power plant on a rooftop of another school (which is, by the way, the very first privileged power producer in Serbia). Besides that, data was gathered on the complete energy consumption in the public lighting system since 2004, as well as the data on energy consumption in public objects in 2005. Since 2009, the citizens are able to see the data on energy consumption and CO2 emissions reduction through the so-called energy clock, a system for online reading and synthetizing data on public lighting real-time energy consumption).
What went wrong?
However, people who had credits in previously mentioned success of their towns are no longer obtaining their previous working positions in public offices. The obstacles that have emerged on the path towards introducing accountable energy management system, unfortunately proved to be a bit too much. Whereas we have a few champions of energy efficiency among our local self-governments, many of them haven’t even started with implementing the system. According to the latest research of Belgrade Open School, conducted in May 2018, more than 60% of towns and municipalities don’t have energy manager appointed, and more than 50% of them collect the energy consumption data rarely or hardly ever.
The pioneers of energy efficiency all agree on what are the key obstacles towards successful implementation of this system. There are legal provisions that are mutually disabling successful implementation of the law. These provisions discourage, the least to say, local governments from introducing the energy management system. To put it more delicately, a package from Brussels and an arrangement from Washington got mixed up a little bit while they were being unwrapped in Belgrade, putting local officials into the situation where they have no chance to make a reasonable choice.
While implementation of the provisions of EU acquis requires hiring professionals on positions of energy managers, fiscal consolidation measures, adopted as a part of an arrangement between the Republic of Serbia and the International Monetary Fund, resulted in employment bans in public sector. Furthermore, amendments to the Budget Law have resulted in shutting down of many agencies that lost the status of indirect budget beneficiaries. For example, the Energy management office of Vrbas municipality was operating at its very best during the times when it was officially a part of the local Directorate for Construction of Vrbas.
This situation prevented local self-governments from hiring experts where there were none and took the autonomy from the ones who were already employed, hand in hand with reducing available funds for energy efficiency measures and the support they previously had from their superiors. The pioneers of energy efficiency, once faced with such situation, decided to pack their bags and continue their work elsewhere, with no one to continue their previous work.
Waiting for another Brussels package
Energy efficiency should be recognized as a very important topic in Serbia to the greater extent than it already is. Activities related to energy management are among the ones that result in direct budget savings. Implementing energy saving measures and achieving budget savings is particularly important these days, when our local self-governments owe slightly more than billion euros, as well as at this time of mobilizing support for climate action. The fact that energy intensity of our economy is much higher than the one of the EU countries, the imperative of fight against climate change, as well as the necessity of preserving our environment, all with a very bad situation with local budget – are just some of the reasons why energy management deserves more praise and support from all stakeholders.
For starters, we should clean up the mess and pack our packages and arrangements the right way, sorting everything out and putting their content in the right place.
Second of all, we should be very patient and keep knocking all the doors, all over our country, and patiently working on informing everyone on the provisions of the energy management system.
These are just baby steps for achieving the previously mentioned ambitious goal – Energy efficiency first, which will come to our address sooner or later, all wrapped up with best wishes from Brussels. Energy efficiency should, in fact, as our energy efficiency pioneers have proven – be recognized for its true value regardless of whether any package comes to our address or not.
Ognjan Pantić, Belgrade Open School
With special thanks to Mr Nikola Vujović, Mr Slobodan Jerotić and Ms Slađana Jevremović
Author of the photo: Belgrade Open School