Tunisia, Switzerland sign energy transition agreement
An agreement that provides for launching the National Energy Transition Plan for Tunisian municipalities support project was inked Tuesday by Tunisia and Switzerland at the headquarters of the National Energy Management Agency (ANME).
The project, worth over 11.3 MTD, will be carried out within three years; it will be funded by a Swiss donation of 9 MTD and the Tunisian government to the tune of 2.3 MTD.
Minister of Energy, Mining and Renewable Energy Hela Cheikhrouhou said this project will help finance energy audits in 350 Tunisian municipalities and support a number of investment projects in energy management.
The objective assigned to this project is a top priority for Tunisia, the Minister said. The energy strategy adopted in November 2016 eyes a 30% decrease in electricity consumption by 2030.
The audit that will be carried out as part of the project will help produce recommendations in relation to investments to be made, renewables that will be developed, the modernisation of facilities and the use of non-energy intensive equipment.
The project seeks to develop an adapted approach of the European Energy Award (EEA), a label that encourages municipalities to work out an integrated energy policy, now established in more than 400 municipalities in Switzerland as well as in France, Germany, Romania, Morocco and Chile .
The National Energy Transition Plan for Tunisian municipalities support project assists at implementing the Municipality Alliance for Energy Transition (ACTE) programme. The latter seeks to beef up the capacities of municipalities to enhance their energy transition through energy management and renewable energy.
In concrete terms, the goal is to increase the ability of municipalities to analyse, plan, implement and monitor their local energy strategies in connection to a wide array of sectors, such as urban planning, transport system, infrastructure, community facilities, energy diversification and depollution, internal organisation, monitoring, cooperation and communication.
The agreement was signed by Switzerland's Ambassador to Tunisia Rita Adam and ANME Director General Hamdi Harrouch, in the presence of the Minister of Energy, Mining and Renewable Energy.
