Saving electricity in the public sector: incentives and penalties

A series of incentives and disincentives in the State to achieve the goal of a 10% reduction in energy costs was announced earlier, during the press conference where the measures to save energy in the State were presented, Deputy Minister of Finance Theodoros Skylakakis.

The minister stated that “the State paid 700 million euros for electricity to PPC in 2021. This amount will be significantly higher in 2022. Therefore, saving electricity in the State is absolutely necessary to adapt to the new data that has created the energy crisis.

Electricity is produced by natural gas, by 30%-40%, the price of which has skyrocketed. It is 10 to 15 times more expensive, compared to the pre-energy crisis period. We should therefore reduce the importation of very expensive natural gas, which in the case of the State, directly burdens the taxpayer. Also, this initiative is necessary, so that in the event of an interruption in the flow of Russian natural gas, there is more energy available for households and businesses.”

The KYA for savings

At the same time, he noted that “in a Joint Ministerial Decision (Government Gazette – Gazette B3424/2-7-2022) we have specified the measures to improve energy efficiency and save energy in buildings and facilities of public sector entities.

The target regarding the reduction of electricity consumption was set at least 10%, in relation to the consumption of the same time period in 2019, for the first year of implementation of the measures. For the following years, the goal will be redefined.”

Energy saving measures include initiatives such as:

• Maintenance of heating and cooling systems, including air conditioning units, at least once a year.
• Determination of internal building temperature (maximum/minimum). The internal temperature of the Government office buildings and the wider public sector is maintained at 27°C during the summer and 19°C during the winter.
• Deactivation of cooling/heating in areas and times when there are no workers.
• Deactivation of office equipment and lighting in areas and times when there are no employees.
• Use of night ventilation in the summer and appropriate shading of the buildings, depending on the season and saving measures in terms of street lighting and the use of electrical equipment.

Application platform

The monitoring of the implementation of actions and the course of electricity consumption to achieve the goal of reducing energy consumption, at least by 10%, is done through the electronic platform publicenergysavings.gov.grwhich has been put into operation.

For the implementation of the measures in the buildings, facilities and infrastructures of the public sector, the following procedure is followed:

The connection, during the initial certification of entry to the application, is made by the operator’s energy infrastructure/facilities manager.

For this purpose, it utilizes the unique codes – credentials (taxisnet) of the General Secretariat of Public Administration Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance, related to A.F.M. each carrier.

After the initial certification, the entry of each body into the application is carried out by the administrative officers (one or more are defined for all the facilities of each body).

In this case, the connection is made using the “Public Administration Codes” of the General Secretariat of Public Administration Information Systems of the Ministry of Digital Governance.

The electronic cross-checking of the necessary data to monitor the implementation of energy saving actions in the State and the course of electricity consumption is carried out through the Interoperability Center of the General Secretariat of Public Administration Information Systems.

Our goal is to change behavior in relation to diligent energy management. For example, when there is enough sunlight there is no need to have the lights on in the building. Aisle lights should not be on unless an employee is present. When the central heating is working and sufficient heating is achieved in the building, there is no reason for the air conditioners to work at the same time. In sports facilities, heated pools if covered use much less energy. A space, where there is no traffic, does not need to be heated or lit during the hours it remains closed, etc.

Finance: Incentives and disincentives

1. For as long as an organization does not apply, administratively, the above-mentioned KYA on energy saving, requests for support from the regular and special reserve and for additional use of cash reserves, both to cover additional energy costs and for other extraordinary expenses, will not be evaluated. non-compulsory. In practice, this will happen, for example, in cases of non-appointment of administrative and energy managers, but also non-execution of duties by those appointed.
2. For the Municipalities, saving energy, by 10%, is a binding goal, especially with regard to street lighting. Where the target is not reached, the State will not financially support the Municipalities for the energy bills in the second half of the year, as it did in the first. The Greek taxpayer cannot be charged for the costs of street lighting that concern the Citizen and are remunerative – especially with today’s extreme energy prices – if there is not a sufficient effort to save by the Local Government.
3. For all public services that receive a bonus, the goal will be added to save electricity consumption by 10% in the last quarter of the year (compared to the corresponding period last year). A basic condition in relation to the targeting will be that there are no significant changes in the actual energy needs of the operator, e.g. due to different weather conditions etc.
4. Those Services that achieve 15% savings in energy consumption, i.e. 5% more than the target, will see this extra 5% in their budget next year.

At the same time, in the context of systematizing the effort to save energy in the State, we will develop additional actions, which will help to immediately achieve the goals of reducing consumption.

The main tool will be groups (task forces), with special energy analysts. These groups will undertake actions such as:

– Information, training and awareness of both the energy managers per building and the employees

– Energy audit per building and application of a special methodology for optimal energy management

– Configuration and implementation, initially as a pilot, of building-specific operating procedures

– Control consumption in real time and support energy managers in exploring cost reduction possibilities

– Control of implementation of cost reduction actions and continuous improvement/adjustment

RES-EMP

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