Municipal energy management for sustainable climate financing

For a long time, systematic energy management have been non-existent in Bulgarian municipalities. While municipal energy management systems according to ISO 50001 have become established in many European countries, this is only the case for a few small municipalities in Bulgaria.

Furthermore, current municipal energy efficiency projects in Bulgaria are often overly dependent on subsidies and grant financing and rarely provide for sufficient monitoring of the results achieved. Private investments are also rare, as the lack of reliable data and monitoring mechanisms have deterred potential investors so far. The project created the necessary conditions for a shift from the previously common grant-based financing to sustainable financing mechanisms. 

Recognising the lack of systematic energy management systems in Bulgarian municipalities, the project worked together with several partners. The local NGO EnEffect developed an energy management tool box that allows municipalities to develop energy management systems that comply with internationally recognized standards. Making use of the tools ensures the provision of reliable, energy-related data, enabling high-quality energy analyses, project monitoring, and improved planning processes. 

View on houses and landscape; photo: Foundation Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect

This, in turn, will increase the potential to attract financing for energy and climate projects, especially with regards to innovative financial schemes such as Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) services, but also potentially attracting investments from the national Energy Savings Obligation Scheme. Among the project partners is also the Bulgarian National Trust Eco Fund. Their aim is to improve the environmental impacts of its investments. To this end, EcoTrust is developing a financing scheme that requires both the implementation and monitoring of energy management practices from investees. They thus encourage the implementation of the newly developed energy management systems. 

One of the main obstacles to sustainable financing of municipal energy management in Bulgaria is the lack of reliable and well-structured data on energy consumption and energy characteristics of buildings. Therefore, the project developed an energy management toolbox that enables Bulgarian municipalities to build their own energy management system that comply with internationally recognized standards. The toolbox provides reliable, energy-related data, enabling high-quality energy analyses, project monitoring, and improved planning processes.  

This in turn improves the opportunities to mobilise funding for investments in energy and climate projects. To support this, an innovative financing tool for energy efficiency projects in Bulgarian municipalities, which focuses on monitoring and verifiying the results of energy efficiency projects, was developed.   

Within the project, the energy management toolbox and the financing instrument were tested in three pilot municipalities (Burgas, Pavlikeni and Lyaskovets) and adapted according to the feedback from the municipalities.  

• Successful practical implementation with a signal effect: 20 municipalities, 25 schools and 4 kindergartens used the online tool developed as part of the project for systematic municipal energy management. This enabled them to implement concrete energy-saving measures and reduce emissions in the long term.  
• Widespread use of the tool: The new financing instrument was agreed upon in public hearings with representatives of Bulgarian municipalities and the national municipal association and presented at a national conference. This ensured its institutional anchoring. Over 30 specialist events in Bulgaria and other countries raised awareness of the project results and promoted knowledge transfer on energy planning, energy poverty and efficiency financing.  
• Seventeen articles on systematic municipal energy management appeared in the EcoEnergy Network newsletter. They reached all Bulgarian municipalities and ensured widespread use of the tool and thus the sustainability of the project activities.