Online training for Kosovo* Municipalities on MVP tool

The first in a series of trainings on the Monitoring and Verification Platform (MVP) was held on May 4-5 for representatives of Kosovo* municipalities, the Energy Efficiency Agency (KEEA) and sector relevant ministries.

‘What is the Monitoring and Verification Platform (MVP);’ ‘How is it structured; ‘How should data be best entered in it and energy savings calculated,’ were some of the many questions addressed during the two day training, which was held in an online format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Energy managers of 11 municipalities, joined by representatives of the Kosovo Energy Efficiency Agency, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning took part in the MVP online training to learn about the tool that is used for reporting on planned and implemented energy efficiency projects.

Organizers of the trainings are the GIZ ORF-EE, GIZ’s Kosovo Energy Efficiency Project and the Kosovo Energy Efficiency Agency.

The training was held by professor Naser Sahiti from the University of Prishtina with the support of the teaching assistant Drilon Meha.

“Participants were deeply interested in procedures related to insertion of plans, planned measures and implemented measures. With focused questions and participation in practical exercises they contributed substantially to the interactivity of the training,” professor Sahiti said.

The Monitoring and Verification Platform is a simple tool for calculating energy savings and recording of all energy efficiency plans, and projects implemented for energy efficiency. The Energy Community Secretariat recommends the MVP as the official tool for sector-relevant reporting and it has been shared with many of its contracting parties. In Kosovo*, MVP has been defined in the Law on EE, adopted in 2018, as an official tool for calculation, verification and reporting on achieved energy savings to be used by municipalities.

This online training is one out of three trainings to be held with Kosovo* participants in May 2020. They are structured to provide key information on the importance of MVP use and feature a detailed presentation of the bottom-up calculation methodology for energy savings, which the tool is based on, finally giving real examples of different types of energy efficiency projects in the country. The approach also includes an explanation and effective examples of how to best register projects in MVP.

“The initial plan was to hold the trainings in the training hub of the Association of Kosovo* Municipalities, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions we needed to find an alternative way which would make the knowledge transfer and exchange possible. With strong joint efforts of the GIZ ORF-EE and the colleagues from the GIZ’s Kosovo Energy Efficiency Project (KEEP) and Kosovo Energy Efficiency Agency, we managed to make the training experience possible from the comfort of participants’ offices and homes,” said Berina Delalic-Gurda, MVP Project Manager.

The planned introduction of the MVP in municipalities across South-East Europe complements its  use on national level and helps to improve communication between the different administrative levels for more effective sector policy making.