Planning and managing problems of energy and energy efficiency at regional and district level in Latvia: Case study

Abstract

This Paper is devoted to find out and determinate a range of planning and managing problems of energy and energy efficiency at district level in the Republic of Latvia. Planning of energy and energy efficiency measures in Latvian districts is based on the European Union guidelines and national development plans of the country. Methods applied by the authors are analysis of the scientific and professional literature, official documentation and logical approach. The main material analyzed comprises of legal acts, statistical data provided by Latvian Central Statistical Bureau. Research showed that issues of energy and energy efficiency policy are not dealt with on a proper level. Shortage of specialists and municipal responsible persons complicates the necessary data acquisition and processing. Contribution of this research is improvement of existing procedures of regional energy and energy efficiency measures planning process and carrying out control of their execution thus further developing. Authors of this researcher are recommending to create governmental energy agencies in each Planning Region responsible for sustainable energy policy development at regional level. This research is of international importance because it can be applied in other countries to improve their administrative planning system on a regional level.