In Mazovia Voivodeship EMPOWER offered an opportunity to speed-up the learning process towards good governance and improved existing Regional Operating Programme methods. After being adopted as fundamental tool for the creation of 2021-2027 Regional Operating Programme for Mazovia Region, the improvements will automatically impact action plans at regional and local levels.
Before EMPOWER, energy monitoring and energy management was an optional action within the frames of Regional Operating Programme in the Mazovia Region, treated as an added value - not an obligation in energy projects financed with public and EU funds. Mazovia Region could reach better results and achieve more savings on financial and energy levels by advising energy monitoring on all stages of project/programme implementation – starting with ex ante, continuing with on-going and ending up with ex post analysis.
Mazovia Action Plan main priority is to influence Regional Operating Programme and others public funding money distribution to support energy efficiency, intelligent energy management and obligatory energy monitoring in public and residential buildings. The Action Plan was prepared in a cooperation with the Managing Authority of the Mazovia Region to assist them and consult on this matter.
Due COVID-19 perspective local governments priorities have changed dramatically and are focused on prevention and helping entrepreneurs. Due to the current situation energy subject has fallen to the sidelines. The perspective of 2014-2020 is already beyond our visions, we have to focus now entirely on a new perspective that gives us new opportunities. After introducing energy monitoring in every energy project financed in the 2014-2020 perspective of the Regional Operating Programme, the new programming period will also refer to EMPOWER best practices.
Coronavirus is not stopping the entire process, working meetings and consultations on new perspective are still ongoing, mostly in a remote form. We continue our work and make sure that our provisions and recommendations are kept up to date and implemented. We are identifying key barriers limiting greater investment in cost-effective energy efficiency, made several key policy recommendations to overcome the barriers, and documented policy and regulatory options for greater attention and investment in energy efficiency. Mazovia government is ensured each step of the way that the obligatory energy monitoring is the right direction.
