MUNEE in Armenia

While economic constraints facing Armenia are a challenge to the improvement of energy efficiency at the municipal level, the Alliance has identified several areas where the Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency (MUNEE) can make a difference. The Alliance works with several local partners to expose Armenia to relevant energy efficiency experiences. By capitalizing on the existing networks, it disseminates experiences to municipal leaders, and creates new networks for exchange of information.

Armenian Energy Efficiency Council: The lack of a strong, organized energy efficiency sector in developing and transition countries impedes the development and implementation of cost-effective energy-saving projects as well as the enactment of sustainable national and municipal energy policies. From the policy making, the lack of effective advocacy for energy efficiency, coupled with a relatively uninformed consumer sector, can contribute to the lack of pressure on key decision-makers to embrace the economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency. Policymakers may have a poor understanding of the energy efficiency technologies themselves and too few case studies to use as examples in debates on pending legislation.

This is especially unfortunate in Armenia where energy efficiency presents one of the most effective opportunities for ameliorating the severe shortages of reliable and safe energy supplies. To help address these challenges, the Alliance and other groups have worked in the United States and overseas to establish non-profit energy efficiency councils to bring together representatives from the utility, banking, manufacturing, ESCo, housing, consumer, and government sectors. These councils have begun to figure prominently in regional energy policy debates, and their successes have proven that the strength and visibility of the energy efficiency sector can be measurably enhanced if individual groups work together toward a common goal. The MUNEE project seeks to work with other ongoing multilateral and domestic efforts in Armenia to develop a Council of stakeholders to champion energy efficiency as a critical component of the resource mix rather than a marginal policy tool.

Armenian Energy Efficiency Network: The Alliance will create an information network related to energy efficiency at the municipal level. A preliminary survey will be sent to a number of pre-selected cities across Armenia, which indicate a strong level of interest in transferring information and providing training on issues related to better energy management. This task will establish the infrastructure needed to create a municipal-focused Armenian Energy Efficiency Network (AEEN), and will support greater dissemination of information throughout the country.

Association of Energy Engineers:The Armenian Chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) organized the Second International Energy Conference in September 2001 to encourage exchange of ideas on future directions in these fields and to promote collaborations in international research and development. The conference agenda included topics such as energy efficiency technologies, renewable enery, and rural energy generation and distribution. The Alliance worked with AEE to organize speakers from the MUNEE region on recent experience in these focus areas.

National Association of Condominium Owners (NACO): Many condominium associations in Armenia are not familiar with basic concepts and benefits of weatherization, heat meters and allocators, and project finance. As a result, building residents pay too much of their limited income for infrequent and poor quality service. In Armenia, there are 602 registered condominium associations (400 of which are members of NACO), including 3,009 buildings and 170,000 units in multi-family buildings.

The Alliance will assist NACO to use its large network of condominium owners and building managers to invest in energy efficiency in common areas and in individual apartments. This assistance will include training seminars for condominium owners on the benefits of improving energy efficiency in terms of improved comfort and financial savings, a booklet of information on low- or no-cost weatherization techniques to be distributed through NACO to all homeowner associations in selected cities, a study tour for NACO leaders to visit counterpart organizations in the MUNEE region, and demonstration projects to install heat meters in a selected residential buildings. The results of these activities will be disseminated throughout the MUNEE network.