Page 185 - Proceeding 2015

MU?ATESCU Virgil and COMĂNESCU Mihaela FAMP

ENERGY EFFICIENCY – A CHALLENGE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITIES CCASP

a) Nowadays, the main indicator for social aid need for a dwelling is income on family member.
This can be relevant for some expenses (food, clothes, etc.), but that is not correct for heating.

b) The present legislation allows payment of some part of the energy bill without knowing if this
PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11 TH ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
consumption is justify or is because of consumer’s behavior and building’s thermal conditions.
In other words the social aid bases on the value of energy bill, not a properly calculated
necessary.

c) The risk of such approach is a bad expenditure of public money: vulnerable consumer living in
a building with big heat losses is financially helped, but will remain in a poorly heated dwelling.

d) A series of essential factors are not taken into account in assessment of the heat necessary

consumption, like: building type, envelop properties, climate zone, etc.

e) In general, „the present policy expresses the effect of this simplistic reduction of energy
poverty to the financial deficit of the present income. That is why „the deficit of financial
30 th – 31 st October 2015 ”Strategic Management for Local Communities” Bucharest As a natural conclusion is the need to adjust the present methodology in such a way to take into
resources has to be extended: not only to procure needed energy, but also to improve the
energy characteristics of consumer’s life environment: to improve his dwelling, to connect to
energy system, etc.” (Zamfir et al, 2015).

account all these facts. In this new approach, a key element is energy efficiency that can help not only
to reduce the energy bill, but can diminish also the appeal to social aid budget, and has a lower impact

on the environment.

Concerning fuel poverty, energy efficiency needed measures have to be chosen and implemented
under a local strategy of development. So, the local authorities are confronted with this new challenge

and have to integrate it in a larger concept of sustainable development of the locality. Acting in this
manner, the local authorities can solve a complex of economic, social, health related, and

environmental problems. Because of it, the thermal rehabilitation programs for buildings are so
important at local level, but also at the central level (Mu?atescu and Comănescu, 2009).

The effects of these policies are larger: on health budget, labor productivity, and at the macroeconomic

level for instance, countries dependence on imported fuels, balance of import-export trade, reaching of
country’s targets of the 20-20-20 program, etc.

The problem is augmented in the context of the two important events that will happen at the end of

2017: complete liberalization of electricity and gas markets (in the horizon of European energy internal
markets integration) and the re-introduction of a number of green certificates (that have been withdrawn

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