COMMENCE: Next Steps Forward Taken
EUKI Project COMMENCE – Community Energy in Central Europe is about half-way through, and it was time to take stock of the results achieved so far and to discuss the next year’s tasks.
The third partners’ meeting took place in Budapest, hosted by the National Society of Conservationists (MTVSZ) and attended by the experts of Slovakian SAPI, the project leader, as well as the Czech Frank Bold, the Polish WiseEuropa and colleagues from Austrian Energy Agency.
On the first day of the two-day meeting, the group met at the MTVSZ office and divided into work packages to discuss where each organisation stands in the implementation process. After the legal research of the V4 countries was completed, the focus was on writing and fine-tuning the National Guidelines based on this material. To this end, each organisation is gathering information and input in two workshops in their respective countries, with a view to finalising and publishing the material early next year.
The first Hungarian workshop took place the day after the partners’ meeting, where the organiser MTVSZ invited national experts and guests, in addition to EUKI project COMMENCE participants, who could provide quality input to the Hungarian guideline. The high standard of the event, which was attended by 60 people, was also indicated by the fact that the Head of the Electricity Department of the Ministry of Energy announced here that the amendment to the Hungarian Electricity Act, which includes the association as an optional legal form for energy communities and the energy efficiency service as an optional activity, has been submitted for public consultation. The two amendments are expected to be approved by MEPs in the autumn session of Parliament. Finally, we thank Angela Holzmann and David Blažek for their presentations which enhanced the professional level of our workshop.