Friday, December 12, 2014

The activities related to the project "Initiative to Enhance Public Dialogue on Sustainable Use of Energy" continue unabated. In the middle of this month, a workshop in Bitola was organized as a conclusion to the already implemented two trainings which were attended by representatives of municipalities, civil society activists, journalists and representatives of the local economy, local communities and local schools from Bitola and Kicevo where they got profound knowledge about energy efficiency and the rational use of energy.                 During the workshop, the participants were acquainted with several practical examples and best practices how to reduce energy costs, and thereby to preserve and even improve the existing comfort in administrative buildings, schools and houses. However, the main emphasis was placed on Local Platforms for Action that will serve as a roadmap to overcome already detected  weaknesses related to sustainable use of energy among all stakeholders in Bitola and Kicevo. Namely, the research results which will be officially presented during the next year, note that households in this part of the country are not sufficiently familiar with the concept of energy efficiency, whereas the low purchasing power is a major obstacle for improving the energy performances of their homes whichare in relatively poor condition. More than half responders live in homes without proper facade or roof insolation, whereas the installation of solar collectors for hot water is extremely low. In addition, citizens of Bitola and Kicevo are not familiar with the so called "Energy Label" which of course refers to the need to improve the level of awareness about these issues. When it comes to the companies which operate in the regions of Bitola and Kicevo, a major obstacle for improving energy performance of the manufacturing and operating facilities is the lack of finances, but additional problem is the deficiency?fawareness when it comes to managing and use?f energy. Namely, half of respondents do not keep records on monthly or annually period about the amount of consumed energy is in their companies, nor have hired a special person would follow this issue.        
As far as the NGO representatives, ? problem is the lack of knowledge on this topic and the need for training for drafting project applications for EU funds and calls. On the other hand, journalists and correspondents reporting from the regions of Bitola and Kicevo consider that the number of news and reports on these topics is too small primarily because of the high intensity of reporting about political events in newspapers or electronic media.                    
Speaking about municipal officials who work in this field, the biggest problem for them are the constraints of municipal budgets for new investments in this domain, piling work agenda and lack of Municipal Energy Efficiency Programs. The mayors of these two municipalities also recognize that there are range of challenges such as limited finances; they also ask for more intensive implementation of national strategic documents, but also more available structural funds that will intensify the tempo of investments and renovations.        
All these problems as well as appropriate solutions are part of the Local Platforms for Action discussed during the workshop, whereas the participants presented several suggestions for their improvement. The platforms are still in the draft version and it is expected to be promoted in early spring next year accompanied by another Regional Platform that will apply for the cross-border region. In this way,systematic scheme of solutions will be offer to the relevant stakeholders.                                            
The following activity within this project is a regional conference that will be held in Korca, R. Albania, at the end of January or beginning of February 2015