On February 21st and 22nd, a training was held in Priboj on "Energy savings as a result of data management". The training was organized by members of Network of good energy, Belgrade open school and RES Foundation, in cooperation with Priboj Municipality and Regional Development Agency Zlatibor. It was held in order to increase capacities of energy managers, as well as to inform employees in public institutions about the importance and possibilities of energy saving, so that the system of energy management may be improved.

The first day of training started with welcoming remarks. Saša Vasilić, Deputy President of the Municipality of Priboj, spoke about municipality's current results in the application of energy efficiency measures and the use of renewable energy sources, but also presented future plans for the rehabilitation of energy-inefficient public buildings in Priboj. Milos Radojević, from Regional Development Agency Zlatibor, in his introductory remark, drew attention to the potentials of the Zlatibor region to remain a leader among regions in terms of energy efficiency and sustainable energy, and stressed the importance of further efforts of the region in development of this area.

Aleksandar Macura from RES Foundation talked about the previous work of Network of good energy of connecting various stakeholders in the field of energy efficiency, as well as about the importance of information exchange and mutual support in order to develop an efficient and long-term, sustainable energy management system in the territories of local self-government units. Mirjana Jovanović, from Belgrade Open School, spoke about BOS' work of many years in cooperation with local actors in the field of energy efficiency in Zlatibor region and announced further work on drafting a regional plan for sustainable climate and energy policy. After the conference "Good Energy of the Zlatibor District" was held in Nova Varoš, a logical step forward towards the establishment of an energy efficiency system was a training on energy-saving based on data management.

After the introductory remarks, energy managers Nikola Vujović and Željko Zečević held a training for energy managers of the Zlatibor district on the topic of structured collection and analysis of data on energy-generating products and energy consumption, as well as which measures are most likely to result in savings. Simple and low-investment measures can save up to 15% of annual energy costs, states a fact derived from monitoring the consumption. During the lecture and discussion, efficient organization of the data collection system, network of potential associates of energy managers for the process of data collection, as well as using software solutions as main tools of energy managers were discussed. In the second part of the training, participants had the opportunity to practically apply the acquired knowledge by trying out the software for data input and analysis. At the end of the first day of the training, participants visited a newly built boiler room in Priboj primary school Branko Radičević, which meant that several public buildings in the old part of Priboj switched from coal to biomass heating, which, along with the energy rehabilitation of the school building facade, resulted in significant energy savings and reducing air pollution in winter months.

The second day of training was held for users of the energy management system - representatives of educational institutions and public utility enterprises from municipality of Priboj. Energy managers Nikola Vujović and Željko Zečević together with Marko Janjušević, energy manager of the Municipality of Priboj, explained the goal of the energy management system and the necessity of cooperattion between employees in public buildings and energy manager in order to establish monitoring of data on energy consumption. Energy consumption in public buildings is one of the bigger items in cities' and municipalities' budgets. Considering that energy costs can account for more than 10% of local government budgets, there is a great deal of possibilities to reduce costs in municipal administration buildings, public lighting, water supply - and thus achieve savings and improve the comfort and health of all citizens.

After the training, public consultations with the citizens of Priboj were organized, where citizens had the opportunity to talk with energy managers about how to save energy in private households.

The training "Energy savings as a result of data management" was held as one of the activities of Network of good energy organized by Belgrade Open School, RES Foundation and Regional Development Agency Zlatibor, with the support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Sweden.

Author of the photos: Belgrade Open School