Energy Headlines

Today the European Commission proposed set of measures to increase energy efficiency. This proposal brings forward measures to step up Member States efforts to use energy more efficiently at all stages of the energy chain – from the transformation of energy and its distribution to its final consumption.

Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner responsible for Energy, said that Commission’s proposal aims at helping citizens, public authorities and the industry to better manage their energy consumption, which should also lead to a reduced energy bill.

In fact, Commission:

- Encourages all Member States to establish energy saving schemes through the implementation of energy efficiency measures such as improving the efficiency of the heating system, installing double glazed windows or insulating roofs, among final energy customers.

- Wants public bodies to push for the market uptake of energy efficient products and services through a legal obligation to purchase energy efficient buildings, products and services.

- Proposes a concept according to which energy billing should be based on the actual consumption well reflecting data from the metering.

- Incentives for SMEs to undergo energy audits and disseminate best practices while the large companies will have to make an audit of their energy consumption to help them identify the potential for reduced energy consumption.

The EU has an ambitious aim to reduce by 20% the EU's anticipated energy consumption by 2020.

Today the Commission presents the legislative proposal for a Directive on energy efficiency which transforms into binding measures many of the key actions proposed in this Energy Efficiency Plan. It builds upon the existing Directives for Cogeneration and Energy Services and merges them into one comprehensive legal instrument addressing energy efficiency in energy supply and in final energy consumption.

Source: News from the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine