ANRE published its third annual monitoring report on the implementation of the National Action Plan regarding Energy Efficiency (PNAEE) for 2016. The national energy efficiency target (43 million toe, in 2020) can be achieved as a result of the “reduction of consumption, through the combined effect of economic restructuring, economic crisis and energy efficiency policies”. However, the progress made in 10 out of 12 national energy efficiency programs is uneven, some of the programs being far behind the targets.
- P0 Development of energy services
- P1 The National Investment Plan
- P2 Increased energy efficiency within the transport and distribution networks
- P3 Promotion of high efficiency cogeneration
- P4 Heating Program 2006-2020
- P5 Energy Efficiency in the ETS sector industry
- P6 Audit and energy management
- P7 Energy efficiency in the residential sector
- P8 Energy efficiency in central government buildings and public services
- P9 Energy efficiency in service sector
- P10 Renewal of the car fleet
- P11 Energy efficiency in the transport sector
The public institutions / authorities involved in the implementation of the National Action Plan regarding Energy Efficiency “do not fully comply with the provisions of Law 121/2014, as they transmit incomplete, sometimes contradictory data”, reports ANRE. “The reports to ANRE-DEE are performed very late compared with the legal deadline of March 30th, endangering also the deadline from the European Commission for reporting the annual progress of Romania corresponding to the assumed energy efficiency target”.
The evolution of the energy services market is slow, notes the authority, “particularly with regard to the ESCO companies” where the market is still under construction. The main obstacles identified in the implementation of energy performance agreements remain those found in the previous report:
- The need to change the procurement procedure within SEAP
- The energy efficiency agreements may affect the level of public debt
- The unclear legislation in terms of legal status and ownership of property
An extremely sensitive problem, observes ANRE, is represented by CHSs – the centralized heat supply systems. From 1990 till now, their number has declined steadily. In 2014, 70 SACETs were in operation, and 6 were closed in 2015, thus 61 such systems are in operation at the moment. “The main causes of this situation are the lack of a coherent policy and strategy at central and local level regarding the heat supply for the localities, as well as the lack of state funding for CHS rehabilitation”, summarizes ANRE.
The situation within the buildings sector, both central government and local administrations, is equally sensitive. Although the potential for energy savings is close to 40% and the legislation requires municipalities to appoint an energy manager for localities with more than 20.000 inhabitants, “the lack of financial resources and the lack of sanctions for failing to meet those obligations [ …] explain the small number of energy managers for the localities”.
Finally, the transport sector “suffers from the lack of a coherent strategy applied to the needs of Romania, combined with what is happening in the other EU member states”, warns ANRE. The Authority found “the total lack of concerns regarding energy, especially energy efficiency or energy savings.”
Some of the solutions identified by ANRE is outsourcing of the energy management services, as well as performing more studies and data collection actions in order to allow a reasonable indirect estimation of energy savings, within a number of components of PNAEE where the energy saving assessment Is difficult.