Communal services and energy

Communal services are one of the original competencies of the local self-government that came from the Constitution and the Law on Local Self-Government, and in this area the SCTM deals with: (1) the development and improvement of communal services at the local level, (2) the management and sustainability of public utility companies, (3) the cost of providing communal services; and (4) inter-municipal cooperation in the provision of communal services at the local level. In the field of communal energy, SCTM deals with issues: (1) energy management in LSG, (2) energy consumption in public services, and (3) renewable energy sources.

SCTM actively cooperates with the state authorities responsible for these areas, and above all with the Ministry of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Mining and Energy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Water Directorate, the Ministry of Health, the Republic Statistical Office, provincial secretariats and other institutions.

Legislative framework

The area of communal services is regulated by the Law on Communal Services, the Law on Public Enterprises, and a number of sectoral laws regulating some of the 15 activities defined by the legal framework.

Competences of towns and municipalities in the field of energy come from the provisions of the Law on Energy, the Law on Efficient Use of Energy, the Law on Planning and Construction, and the Law on Housing and Maintenance of Buildings. The role of local self-government units in the field of energy derived from the above mentioned laws is multiple, in terms of the production and distribution of heat, the regulation of the heat market, the advising of citizens in terms of energy efficiency measures, rational energy management in public facilities and services, and co-financing projects for energy rehabilitation in the housing sector.

How SCTM contributes to the improvement of communal services and energy

Through its activities and cooperation with partner organizations, scientific institutions and state authorities, SCTM is working to improve local capacities in the areas of communal services and communal energy. In terms of capacity building, SCTM emphasizes the application of laws, especially in the areas of water supply, wastewater treatment and municipal waste management, as well as in the development of utility companies' plans and programmes, energy management system implementation, contracting energy performances and switching to renewable energy sources, and their application.

In order to exchange experiences and practical knowledge between towns and municipalities and to monitor the situation and define the organization's policy in this area, within the framework of the SCTM operate: the SCTM Committee on Communal Services and Energy, Network of Energy Efficiency Managers and Energy Efficiency Officers, and the Network for Communal Services.

The most important priorities of the SCTM in the coming period in this area are:

Further development of the regulatory framework in the field of communal services and ensuring adequate representation of local self-government units in these processes;
Creating conditions for the sustainability of communal systems through gathering arguments and advocating the necessity of introducing a unique methodology for determining the prices of communal services;
Improvement of inter-municipal cooperation as a prerequisite for more economical, efficient, and quality provision of communal services;
Further development of knowledge and awareness of the importance of improving energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources, both in the public and in the housing and industry sectors;
Consistent implementation of the energy management system at the local level;

Creating mechanisms for financing energy efficiency projects and using renewable energy sources.