The Public Asks the Government to Include into the State Budget Adequate Funding for Energy Efficiency Programs
Representatives of NGOs filed an open letter to the government in which the call to allocate budgetary funds for the annual implementation of state energy efficiency programs in the amount that would meet the real demand, and adopt draft laws that will allow launching the Energy Efficiency Fund and will contribute to reforming the housing and utilities sector.
“We hope that 2017 will become the year of energy efficiency in Ukraine: public support programs will be deployed, the Energy Efficiency Fund will be established and appropriate legal framework will be provided. In addition, we expect that the government will take steps to the monetization of housing and utilities subsidies to create incentives for engaging the recipients of subsidies to the energy efficiency programs,” states the letter.
Taking into account the reduction in funding for energy efficiency programs in the residential sector in the draft State Budget from UAH 893 million in 2016 to UAH 800 million in 2017, the public asks the Government to initiate change to ensure adequate funding for energy efficiency programs in 2017.
Activists also call the government to continue and improve the “Warm Loans” Program which has become a successful example of the effective support of the people in reducing their energy consumption. This program should not be considered as an alternative to the Fund, but rather as an additional mechanism of state support.
An important task is the completion of the final version of the Energy Efficiency Fund Concept and the adoption of related draft laws: No. 4901 “On Commercial Accounting of Public Utility Services”; No. 4941 “On Energy Efficiency of Buildings”; No. 1581-d “On Housing and Public Utility Services”, “On the Energy Efficiency Fund “(under development).
The letter was signed by the Civic Network OPORA, the DiXi Group the DiXi Group Think Tank, Ecoclub, the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine, the Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR), Ukraine Crisis Media Centre, Ukrainian Centre for European Policy, Association Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine .
