On 12th April 2010, the mayor of Tbilisi, Gigi Ugulava, has signed the Covenant of Mayors, thus Tbilisi became the first city in the Southern Caucasus which has joined this important movement and committed to the European 3 x 20 objective by 2020. This objective consists in energy consumption reduction by 20%, CO2 emissions reductions by 20%, portion of 20% of renewable energies in the energy production.

In order to ensure that the political commitment is also practically implemented, it is essential for Mr Ugulava to benefit from an adapted internal organisation and get support from a competent municipal team.

Tbilisi is one of the pilot cities within the MODEL-CIUDAD project and thanks to the training workshop organised in September 2010, an energy manager (Mr. Mamuka Salukvadze) was appointed and a special team was assigned to prepare a thorough municipal energy plan (MEP).
The team started to collect energy data from the municipal buildings. The information accumulated in the database and the buildings that were proved to be using over-norm amounts of energy will be inspected additionally to define the reasons. The MEP team will analyse and evaluate existing energy state of the art in municipal buildings.

The MEP team which was created in the framework of MODEL-CIUDAD project took part in the development of the Covenant of Mayors Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The team members met different experts to identify the main actions to be included in the SEAP.

For achievement of the given purpose, the city of Tbilisi incurs following essential obligations:

• Preparation of a baseline as a basis of the sustainable energy action plan;
• Finalisation of the sustainable energy action plan within one year after signing the Covenant of Mayors;
• Assistance in adapting the municipal structures, including accurate dispatching of human resources in order to implement necessary actions;
• Mobilization of the civil society in Tbilisi to participate in the SEAP by carrying out corresponding policies and accepting necessary measures;
• Two years after the submission of the SEAP to the Covenant of Mayors Office, monitoring and estimation of results achieved will be carried out;
• Exchange of experience and know-how with various territorial units;
• Organization of "Energy Days" together with the European Commission and other interested parties that will give the chance to citizens to be aware and learn further about rational consumption of energy;
• Informing of the media according to a communication plan;
• Participation in the annual conferences directed to politicians and their involvement within the Covenant of Mayors;

Currently, Tbilisi has submitted its SEAP and on that basis the Municipal Energy Plan developed within the MODEL-CIUDAD project will contain a thorough list of prioritized actions. Long-term goals and immediate objectives of the MEP will be established.

For more information, please download Tbilisi’s Sustainable Energy Action Plan.

For more information, please contact Elene Gvilava

Copyright photo: Gia Gvilava, Wikimedia Commons