Procedures for Concluding and Supervising a Voluntary Agreement on Energy Efficiency Improvement

Issued pursuant to
Section 8, Paragraph three of the Energy Efficiency Law

I. General Provisions

1. The Regulation prescribes:

1.1. the conditions for the conclusion of a voluntary agreement on energy efficiency improvement (hereinafter - the agreement);

1.2. the content of the agreement;

1.3. the duration of the agreement;

1.4. the supervision of the implementation of the agreement.

2. Terms used in this Regulation:

2.1. party to the agreement - an organisation representing merchants, a merchant or a local government which voluntarily undertakes to achieve the intended energy savings target by implementing specific measures for the improvement of energy efficiency according to the provisions of the concluded agreement;

2.2. energy efficiency plan of the party to the agreement - a plan for the implementation of the measures for the improvement of energy efficiency in order for the party to the agreement to achieve the intended target of energy savings according to terms and conditions of the concluded agreement;

2.3. agreement register - a list of the parties to the agreements drawn up by the Ministry of Economics (hereinafter - the responsible ministry) and published on its website.

II. Provisions of the Agreement

3. Under the agreement, the party to the agreement shall undertake to achieve energy saving amounting to at least 10 %. Achievement of the energy savings target shall be based on the energy efficiency plan of the party to the agreement.

4. An obligated party of the energy efficiency obligation scheme may not be involved in the achievement of the energy savings target specified under the agreement.

5. Achievement of the target shall be confirmed by the energy efficiency measures and energy savings announced in the State energy efficiency monitoring system.

6. The responsible ministry shall, at least once a year, publish on its website an invitation for the merchants, organisations representing them or local governments to conclude an agreement with the responsible ministry on energy efficiency improvement.

7. An applicant who has submitted the following information to the responsible ministry shall be considered an applicant for the conclusion of the agreement (hereinafter - the applicant):

7.1. the information certifying the conformity of the applicant with Sub-paragraph 2.1 of this Regulation;

7.2. the contact information of a representative of the applicant for drawing up the agreement.

8. Drawing up of the agreement shall include negotiations between the responsible ministry and each applicant regarding the aim and content of the agreement, as well as the supervision of its implementation.

9. The agreement shall be concluded for a period not shorter than five years.

III. Content of the Agreement

10. The agreement between the responsible ministry and an organisation representing merchants shall include the following:

10.1. the energy savings target of the organisation representing merchants;

10.2. the energy efficiency plan of the organisation representing merchants;

10.3. the obligation of the organisation representing merchants to inform the represented merchants of any issues regarding energy efficiency improvement;

10.4. the obligation of the organisation representing merchants to provide information to the responsible ministry regarding the progress of the implementation of the agreement;

10.5. the conditions for the possibilities of support to energy audits and individual measures for the improvement of energy efficiency which are implemented according to the agreement;

10.6. any other information necessary for the implementation of the concluded agreement.

11. The agreement between the responsible ministry and a merchant shall include the following:

11.1. the energy savings target of the merchant;

11.2. the energy efficiency plan of the merchant;

11.3. the obligation of the merchant to implement measures for the improvement of energy efficiency;

11.4. the obligation of the merchant to provide information to the responsible ministry regarding the progress of the implementation of the agreement;

11.5. the conditions for the possibilities of support to energy audits and individual measures for the improvement of energy efficiency which are implemented according to the agreement;

11.6. any other information necessary for the implementation of the concluded agreement.

12. The agreement between the responsible ministry and a local government shall include the following:

12.1. the energy savings target of the local government;

12.2. the energy efficiency plan of the local government which is a separate document or a part of the development plan of the local government;

12.3. the obligation of the local government to inform residents of its administrative territory of the issues related to the field of energy efficiency;

12.4. the obligation of the local government to provide information to the responsible ministry regarding issues related to the field of energy efficiency, as well as the energy savings achieved as a result of the implemented measures;

12.5. the conditions for the possibilities of support to energy audits and individual measures for the improvement of energy efficiency which are implemented according to the agreement;

12.6. any other information necessary for the implementation of the concluded agreement.

IV. Energy Efficiency Plan of the Party to the Agreement

13. The energy efficiency plan of the party to the agreement shall include the following:

13.1. general description of the aim of the agreement;

13.2. high, medium and low-priority measures for the improvement of energy efficiency and the time necessary for their implementation;

13.3. short-term and long-term forecasts of energy savings (where possible);

13.4. conditions for the establishment of an energy management system or another system to ensure continuous evaluation of energy consumption;

13.5. any other presentation of information characterising and explaining the type and mechanism of the implementation of the agreement.

V. Supervision of the Implementation of the Agreement

14. The party to the agreement shall, each year by 1 November, report on the results of the implementation of the agreement in the previous calendar year in accordance with the laws and regulations regarding energy efficiency monitoring.

15. The agreement register shall include the following:

15.1. the name of the party to the agreement;

15.2. the energy savings target under the agreement;

15.3. the information regarding the results achieved within the framework of the agreement.

16. The responsible ministry shall maintain the agreement register and shall also publish and update once a year the information regarding the results achieved within the framework of the agreement.

17. If the party to the agreement fails to ensure supervision of the measures for the improvement of energy efficiency or reporting on energy savings, or fails to fulfil any other provision of the agreement, the agreement shall be terminated according to the following procedures:

17.1. the responsible ministry shall send a reminder to the party to the agreement inviting the party to the agreement to submit the report referred to in Paragraph 14 of this Regulation by specifying the time limit for the submission thereof which may not be shorter than three months;

17.2. if the party to the agreement fails to submit the report referred to in Paragraph 14 of this Regulation after receipt of the reminder referred to in Sub-paragraph 17.1 of this Regulation, the responsible ministry shall terminate the agreement by removing the party to the agreement from the agreement register.

18. The party to the agreement which has been removed from the agreement register according to the procedures referred to in Paragraph 17 of this Regulation may apply for the conclusion of a new agreement not earlier than three years after the day when the agreement was terminated.

Informative Reference to European Union Directive

This Regulation contains legal norms arising from Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on energy efficiency, amending Directives 2009/125/EC and 2010/30/EU and repealing transposing of the requirements of Directives 2004/8/EC and 2006/32/EC into laws and regulations.

Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister for Economics Arvils Ašeradens

Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)