On Tuesday, May 31, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted as a basis in the first reading bill No. 6485 on creating conditions for the introduction of comprehensive thermal modernization of buildings.
Appropriate solution supported 313 People's Deputies of Ukraine. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a people's deputy from the Holos faction, announced this following the results of the plenary session of the parliament.
Draft Law No. 6485 "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Creating Conditions for the Implementation of Comprehensive Thermal Modernization of Buildings" was submitted to the Rada by the government of Denys Shmyhal in December 2021.
The need for this draft law was that other laws contain norms that complicate the procedure for the development and implementation of energy efficient projects or actually exclude the implementation of partial projects, because the achievement of the minimum energy efficiency requirements specified by law is possible only with a major overhaul.
It is noted that, based on the results of the work of the Energy Efficiency Fund, legislative barriers were identified that prevent the thermal modernization of buildings, in particular, within the framework of the fund's programs.
Therefore, with its bill, the government proposes to remove barriers to the large-scale implementation of such measures for residential and public buildings, in particular, those that receive state support.
This bill involves the creation of new and improvement of existing mechanisms for ensuring the energy efficiency of buildings, with the aim of significantly simplifying the process of energy modernization of buildings under the ENERGOHOME Program.
"The bill on amendments to some laws of Ukraine to create conditions for the introduction of comprehensive thermal modernization of buildings was being prepared over the past year, on February 23 it was supported by members of the relevant Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, but the very next day we found ourselves in the new conditions of the Russian military invasion of the territory of our state. It is obvious that since then the priorities have changed somewhat, we are working together to ensure the restoration of the housing stock destroyed as a result of hostilities, we have already developed relevant proposals and we hope that amendments will be made to this bill in the second reading, which will take into account the conditions and challenges which we all faced on February 24,” said Yegor Farenyuk, director of the Energy Efficiency Fund.
Among the main innovations, this bill provides:
1. Simplification of the procedure for considering an application for partial reimbursement of the cost of energy efficiency measures.
2. Introduction of the possibility of phased financing of thermal modernization projects, as well as the possibility of financing those types of work (no more than 10% of the cost of the entire project, the list of works is approved by the Energy Efficiency Fund) that are not related to energy efficiency, but are necessary for the implementation of the building thermal modernization project.
3. Introduction of the newest small requirements for energy efficiency. In particular, the minimum requirements are subject to revision at least once every 5 years; minimum requirements for energy efficiency are differentiated depending on the functional purpose of buildings, the height of buildings, and the type of construction; minimum requirements for energy efficiency apply to new construction, reconstruction, and major repairs.
4. Thermal modernization of the building does not involve partial insulation of the facade and should be systemic, the same for the whole house.
5. The provisions for certification (formerly professional certification) of persons who intend to carry out activities for certification of energy efficiency and inspection of technical installations are being changed.
6. A new regulation is being added establishing an energy management system for buildings.
7. The regulation of the issue of the Strategy for the thermal modernization of buildings is being fixed.
8. The scheme of abuse of utility service providers to accept a commercial metering unit (common house meter) for subscriber registration is being destroyed. It is established that payment for the installation of a common house meter is made only according to the meter readings, from the moment it is actually installed.
Recall that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky invited Iceland to take part in the restoration of Ukraine, in particular its energy modernization.
