Establishment of an Energy and Climate Office for advizing the citizens of the SAŠA region
About this good practice
The Energy and Climate Office was established as a LOCAL SPOC for citizens to obtain information and concrete instructions regarding the energy renovation of their homes, reducing energy consumption and costs, and seeking possibilities of obtaining grants. The reason for establishment was the existence of too many contact points at the national level mostly advising with a broader perspective, not taking into account local limitations, problems, and opportunities that the regional Just Transition is causing and offering. The situation in the region is specific, due to the long duration of energy prosperity in the region, which has been marked by low prices for heat energy from local DHS, securing heat from the nearby thermal power plant. Energy behavior has never been part of the habits of citizens. Neither public nor private district heating infrastructure has followed it. Now, in a time of record energy prices, many citizens are faced with high prices for district heating, and a large percentage of citizens are also plunged into energy poverty. With free advice from experts, the goal is to provide citizens with information on the efficient use of thermal energy, the more economical use of thermal and electrical energy, the promotion of energy self-sufficiency with electrical energy, and inform them about the transformation of the DHS. The key goal is to accelerate the energy renovation of buildings in the municipality, thereby achieving appropriate thermal energy savings.
Resources needed
-Operating costs of the premises where the consulting is carried out
-Cost of salaries of two consultants
-Training of consultants
-Costs of individual campaigns, such as offering inexpensive equipment, or awareness-raising campaigns (printing infographics, printing flyers, etc.)
Evidence of success
More than 1,000 local residents have been involved in the contact point, who in return have received excellent advice that has helped them with the implementation of their concrete projects on the field. Since the opening of the office, more than 10 private large apartment buildings have decided to insulate their walls, etc.
More than a thousand thermometers and hygrometers have been distributed through the point. A series of awareness-raising campaigns have been carried out.
Potential for learning or transfer
The overall focus of this practice is adapted to the problem of too many SPOC points in EU regions and especially Slovenia, as there are too many contact points available, but not enough focus is on smaller local areas, where ordinary citizens have exactly the same problems that concern the various regional challenges, which cause them to have various limitations or difficulties in implementing RES or EE measures. The good practice of this initiative is the adaptation of advice at the local level, where the advice does not touch on the situations of other regions, countries, or problems at the national level, but focuses only on the opportunities and challenges in the local environment. Given that the SAŠA region is one of several hundred JTM regions in the EU, the potential for the transfer of this good practice is visible mainly in these regions, as these are regions that have specific challenges, limitations, problems, and opportunities.
Further information
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
