Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency

The Alliance to Save Energy has over 10 years of experience in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. The involvement began in the mid-1990s with local energy-efficiency initiatives in Kaliningrad, Russia and Lviv, Ukraine, and soon evolved into a region-wide effort that continues to this day.

The Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency (MUNEE) program allows Eastern European and Eurasian municipalities to implement cost-saving energy-efficiency improvements in heating and water systems, residential structures, and municipal buildings – particularly schools and hospitals. Supported with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by the Alliance to Save Energy, MUNEE has worked in 17 countries and continues to reach many others in the region. Currently the Alliance has two fully-staffed MUNEE offices in Moldova and Armenia, in addition to an extensive network of partners with demonstrated skills in energy engineering, policy development, resource economics, training, and public outreach. See the list of MUNEE Offices and Partners in the region.

MUNEE Focus Areas:

National Policy Reform

Energy efficiency at the local level is not always a local issue. National policy determines many of the incentives for and impediments against wiser energy management. In Eastern Europe, key issues are tariffs that are not based on energy consumption and subsidies that remove any incentive to use less energy. Many of these policies are decided in national capitals, out of the reach of municipal decision-makers. Equally as important is the high degree of centralization - cities often have little revenue generation and depend on the national government for budget outlays. The result is that cities have little control over their budgets and little incentive to reduce operating expenses. MUNEE is working with its in-country partners and municipal associations to promote national policy reform that will increase municipal autonomy and create incentives to reduce energy waste.

Tracking the Best Practices

Despite the numerous barriers - the high interest rates, the lack of budget authority, the shortage of money - many cities come up with creative ways to reduce their high energy burden. These success stories include innovative tariff designs, aggressive energy planning, removal of subsidies (while also reducing non-payment), and novel financing schemes. These efforts have resulted in reduced losses in district heating systems and efficiency improvements in multifamily buildings, schools and hospitals. The successes arose from strong leadership, creative thinking, and sometimes desperate circumstances. Yet these cities provide useful models for others around the region.

MUNEE disseminates energy management practices throughout the region in order to enable an informational exchange for energy centers and municipal associations. MUNEE hopes that examples of best practices are relied upon for creating a self-sustaining momentum of energy efficiency practices.

Energy Planning & Energy Management Techniques at the Local Level

Despite the high energy costs that cities face, most municipal leaders have relatively little awareness of these problems, and the existing solutions. Often, cities are not aware of how much they spend on energy, have little experience in tracking energy costs, do not adequately plan for energy expenses in the future, and cannot identify the energy "hot spots" - the buildings with the most flagrant energy waste. In this case, MUNEE transfers the positive experiences of cities in energy plan design. MUNEE disseminates software that enables cities to assess and track energy consumption, identify the "hot spots", and to design the most cost-effective energy efficiency investments. MUNEE also provides training for proper utilization of software, and training manuals.

Creating Networks for Energy Efficiency

The Alliance has created a MUNEE Database comprised of all ministries, municipal entities, non-governmental organizations, business and trade associations, and professional organizations that are active in the development of energy efficiency policies and programs in the region. This database will form the core of the Network and will be used to keep stakeholders informed of relevant events in the region, conferences, study tour opportunities, and legislative initThe Alliance to Save Energy has over 10 years of experience in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. The involvement began in the mid-1990s with local energy-efficiency initiatives in Kaliningrad, Russia and Lviv, Ukraine, and soon evolved into a region-wide effort that continues to this day.

The Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency (MUNEE) program allows Eastern European and Eurasian municipalities to implement cost-saving energy-efficiency improvements in heating and water systems, residential structures, and municipal buildings - particularly schools and hospitals. Supported with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by the Alliance to Save Energy, MUNEE has worked in 17 countries and continues to reach many others in the region. Currently the Alliance has two fully-staffed MUNEE offices in Moldova and Armenia, in addition to an extensive network of partners with demonstrated skills in energy engineering, policy development, resource economics, training, and public outreach. See the list of MUNEE Offices and Partners in the region.

Project Development

In addition to information dissemination, MUNEE seeks to generate investment in capital improvements. The Alliance completed a series of 3 training seminars under a grant from the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on developing bankable business plans for energy efficiency projects in Kazakhstan (see Development of Energy-Efficient Projects: Feasibility Study and Business Planning ).

Please take a look at the MUNEE Fact Sheet for printable information.

This program is funded in part by the United State Agency for International Development