The OSS serves to provide advice and support to citizens on organisational, administrative, legal, technical and financial aspects of energy efficiency measures in combination with renewable energy (PV or biomass). The activities are targeted mainly to multi-family residential buildings with many individual homeowners, and aim to support the establishment of citizen energy communities for refurbishing the whole building. The services are to be provided by five Implementation Champions (ICs). These municipal employees will deliver advice and consultations both online through the Up-Stairs digital platform and in-person at physical office premises located in the administrative building of Asenovgrad Municipality.
Digital Platform of Asenofgrad (in Bulgarian language)
As in many Central and Eastern European Countries, a large portion of the building stock in Bulgaria, especially in urban areas, consists of multi-family apartment buildings built from pre-fabricated panels. These buildings have very low energy inefficiency. They need to be refurbished to increase their energy performance and introduce renewable energy systems. One of the main challenges in this process is the fact that these buildings have many individual owners who need to work together in the decision-making process. Establishing an energy community with many individual apartment owners requires specific knowledge and experience on the different aspects of citizen energy communities, including available funding sources and their specific requirements. Supporting this process is the main motivation for the initiation and setting-up the OSS ASEN.
The main preparatory steps for the establishment of the OSS ASEN have been the following:
As of 1 July 2022, the main preparatory steps indicated above have been accomplished, including the training of 5 Implementation Champions that took place on 23 June 2022 in the premises of the municipality. The training was delivered by experts of the Sofia Energy Centre, a partner supporting the Municipality of Asenovgrad. The OSS ASEN officially started its operation on 24 June 2022.
