Ministry Publishes Recommendations for Reduction of Energy Consumption – Construction of RES Power Plants, Reduction of Public Lighting by 33% and Optimization of Date of Beginning of Heating Season

The Ministry of Mining and Energy has published recommendations for the public administration, local self-government units, companies owned by the state, the economy and households for the reduction of the consumption of electrical and heating energy.

Within the recommendations for state companies and public institutions, it is said that they should prepare plans for consumption saving, whereas EPS is recommended to stimulate the saving of electrical energy by considering approving an additional discount on the electricity bills for the purchasers which reduce the monthly consumption compared to the same month last year.

Also, heating plants should consider the optimization of the date of the beginning of the heating season and the activation of cogeneration facilities for the production of electrical energy.

EPS is also recommended to optimize the beginning of the operations of the thermal power plants/heating plants, and additionally explore the possibility of implementation of other models for the procurement of electrical energy and coal and for EPS and EDS to facilitate the procedures for connecting prosumers to the power network.

Another recommendation is for EPS to become 100% owner or the majority co-owner (over 50%) of the projects of the construction of power plants running on renewable energy sources, through the initiation of the launching of the procedure of the selection of strategic private partners for the construction of power plants which use RES.

Among other things, for towns and municipalities, it is proposed to reduce public lighting by 33%, to limit the lighting of billboards and lit ads, to restrict New Year’s lighting from December 15 to January 15 and other measures.

The proposition defines a reduction of electrical and heating energy by 15% compared to the same period in 2021/2022 for the public administration organs, state companies, public institutions and the economy, which should secure the turning off of lighting after the working hours in rooms in which no one is staying, but also to have a temperature of no more than 20 degrees Celsius, with the exception of hospitals, welfare protection institutions, kindergartens and schools.

For employees in public administration organs, state companies, public institutions and the economy, the recommendation is not to use lighting in interior spaces and offices in public buildings in the periods when there is enough daylight, to use stairs instead of elevators and to print out only the necessary documents in the necessary number of copies and to turn off all the computers, printers and other devices once they finish working.

Recommendations for households

The proposed recommendations for households pertain to a more rational use of, primarily, electrical energy. Along with the already known savings measures such as the use of LED lights and turning on the washing machine only when it’s full, the following measures are recommended:

– using boilers to prepare hot water only when it’s needed, the boiler’s thermostat to be set at a maximum heating temperature of 60 degrees Celsius;
– setting the fridge at 4 degrees and the freezer at –18 degrees in order to achieve the optimal consumption;
– in case of sitting and staying for a longer time, the temperatures should be 20 to 21 degrees;
– for rooms in which we sleep 18 degrees;
– for rooms in which no one is staying during the day because of going to work or school, 16 degrees, and in the case of a longer absence, 10 degrees.

Also, one of the proposed measures is to raise the public awareness of the importance of energy efficiency, a rational use of energy and the use of RES to the end of reducing the consumption.

More detailed data and proposed recommendations for the reduction of the consumption of electrical and heating energy can be viewed here (in Serbian).

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministry of Mining and Energy

Government of Serbia

proposed recommendations

recommendations

energy savings

electricity savings

more rational use

public lighting

decorative lighting

use of LED lighting

replacement of joinery

reduction of consumption of electrical energy

heating energy

heat pumps

energy efficiency

power plants running on RES

cogeneration facilities