In 2014, Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the European Union, committing to implement the EU Energy Efficiency Directive. The country now aims to reform its energy sector and cut its energy consumption in half by 2030.

Since 2015, Ukraine has made remarkable progress in this area, but today the country’s energy consumption is still considerably higher than that of the most advanced European nations, which puts a substantial burden on the national and local budgets.

In 2022, the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine conducted an energy audit of its building, which showed a potential of reducing heating costs by 20%, which could ultimately save up to UAH 1.3 million per year.

Based on the results of this audit, government officials took the initiative to implement a pilot project to improve energy efficiency in a number of government headquarters, including the Ministry of Finance’s building.

To boost this initiative, East Europe Foundation developed the project Implementing Energy Efficiency Measures in Three Administrative Buildings in Kyiv and 10 Enterprises in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv Regions (brand name – Power Up!) in order to provide mini-grants for Ukrainian enterprises affected by the war to bring forth energy efficiency solutions. 

The Power Up! project is supported by the program Promotion of Energy Efficiency and Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive in Ukraine, implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and co-financed by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). 

The project runs from July 2023 to February 2024 to implement energy efficiency solutions in government headquarters; to deliver training on the efficient use of energy resources; and, to conduct a grant competition in order to enable 10 shortlisted Ukrainian companies to purchase power conservation equipment with grant funds.

It is expected that as a result of the Power Up! project, the total annual energy savings for 10 selected enterprises will be no less than 3000 MWh/year. As a result of the thermal modernization, the Ministry of Finance’s building will become a smart energy consumption model for other state and municipal institutions to follow this lead.