1

EN

This action is funded by the European Union

ANNEX

of the Commission Implementing Decision on the financing of the annual action arogramme in

favour of Central Asia for 2020 Part 2

Action Document for "EU Support to Sustainable Energy Connectivity in Central Asia"

ANNUAL PROGRAMME

This document constitutes the annual work programme in the sense of Article 110(2) of the

Financial Regulation and action programme/measure in the sense of Articles 2 and 3 of

Regulation N° 236/2014.

1. Title/basic act/

CRIS number

EU Support to Sustainable Energy Connectivity in Central Asia

CRIS number: ACA/2020/041-920

Financed under the Development Cooperation Instrument.

2. Zone benefiting

from the

action/location

Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,

Uzbekistan)

The action shall be carried out at the following location: Central Asia

Region.

3. Programming

document Multi-annual Regional Indicative Programme for the period 2014-

20201, which has been amended following the mid-term review

2.

4. SDGs - Primary SDGs

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

SDG 13: Climate Action

- Secondary SDGs

SDG 5: Gender Equality

5. Sector of

intervention/

thematic area

Priority Sector 1: Regional

Sustainable Development DEV. Assistance: YES

6. Amounts concerned Total estimated cost: EUR 8 000 000

Total amount of EU Budget contribution: EUR 8 000 000

1 C(2014) 5653 of 12.08.2014 2 C(2018) 4741 of 20.7.2018

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7. Aid modality(ies)

and

implementation

modality

Project Modality

Direct management through Procurement

8 a) DAC code(s) 23110 – Energy policy and administrative management

23210 – Energy generation, renewable sources – multiple

technologies

23181 – Energy education/training

b) Main Delivery

Channel

60000 – Private sector institution

9. Markers

(from CRIS DAC

form)

General policy objective Not

targeted

Significant

objective

Principal

objective

Participation development/good

governance ☐ X ☐

Aid to environment ☐ ☐ X

Gender equality and Women’s

and Girls’ Empowerment ☐ X ☐

Trade Development X ☐ ☐

Reproductive, Maternal, New

born and child health

X ☐ ☐

RIO Convention markers Not

targeted

Significant

objective

Principal

objective

Biological diversity X ☐ ☐

Combat desertification X ☐ ☐

Climate change mitigation ☐ X ☐

Climate change adaptation ☐ X ☐

10. Global Public

Goods and

Challenges (GPGC)

thematic flagships

1: Global Climate Change Alliance; flagship 3: Switch to Green –

support private sector-led inclusive green growth; flagship 12:

Climate Change Mitigation – supporting low carbon development

SUMMARY

The proposed Action ‘EU Support to Sustainable Energy Connectivity in Central Asia’ (SECCA)

builds on the INOGATE programme, the Central Asia Sustainable Energy Programme, and most

recently the EU4Energy programme. SECCA is guided not only by the Central Asia Multi-

annual Indicative Programme and its focal sector ‘Regional Sustainable Development’ but also

by the Joint Communication on ‘Connecting Europe and Asia: Building Blocks for an EU

Strategy‘ (2018), as well as the Joint Communication on ‘The EU and Central Asia: New

Opportunities for a Stronger Partnership’ (2019).

Some of the region’s persisting challenges are lack of capacity and know-how of energy

efficiency/savings, limited energy performance and governance by economic sectors, energy

tarriffs below recovery cost, challenges in environmental and gender-inclusive policies, modern

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legislative/regulatory/technical frameworks, and lack of connection between Central Asia’s

energy markets.

In line with the above-mentioned strategic framework documents, the lessons learnt from

previous programmes, and persisting challenges, the overall objective is to promote a more

sustainable energy mix in the Central Asia region in line with EU best practices. Specifically, the

programme will work through a range of activities to achieve concrete outputs to strengthen

public capacity (institutional, human and regulatory, financial), raise awareness, improve data

and modelling, improve the identification of bankable projects, and boost regional cooperation,

eventually setting the seed for connectivity. The programme will be implemented under direct

management through procurement.

1 CONTEXT ANALYSIS

Context Description 1.1

Central Asian countries Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were

all Soviet republics up to their independence in the early 1990s. Since then, they have

incorporated, albeit in a selective way, partial elements of a market-oriented economy, export

diversification and new business trading relationships. The benefits have been evident in higher

GDP, GDP per capita, classification as lower (or upper) middle income countries and higher

rankings in the World Bank Doing Business and Human Development index. The region's

current population of about 70 million people is expected to grow to 90 million by 2050. The

region is characterised by varied geography, including high passes and mountains (Tian Shan,

Pamir), vast deserts (Kara Kum, Kyzyl Kum), and steppes.

The countries of Central Asia are strongly interdependent in their water and energy resources and

their environment, given that they are interconnected by multiple transboundary rivers, including

the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya flowing in the Aral Sea Basin which connects all five

countries. However, energy and water resources are unevenly distributed. Hydropower resources

are concentrated in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, the upstream countries of the Amu

Darya and Syr Darya rivers, while the hydrocarbon resources are concentrated in Kazakhstan,

Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The current hydro-power generation capacity of the Kyrgyz

Republic and Tajikistan is constrained by the agreed regime of summer water releases to

downstream irrigation.

Concerning the wider energy sector, the region has a primary energy supply of 154 megatonnes

of oil equivalent (Mtoe)3 – which is equivalent to 68 million homes being supplied across the

region with energy each year – and has electricity generation of 217 TWh,4 The countries face

several critical challenges. There is aging, poorly performing and inadequately maintained

infrastructure – in particular electricity generation, transmission and distribution assets – high

technical and commercial losses in the networks, high energy intensity of economic activities. At

the same time, the tariffs are below the costs of production and thus ‘dis-incentivise’ investments

and discourage greater energy efficiency. Furthermore, high universal subsidies are increasing

energy demand, leading to inefficient use of electricity for heating, and parts of the population

are disproportionally affected by irregular and insufficient supply of electricity.

3 One ton of oil equivalent (toe) is about 11,630 kWh. A typical household in Kazakhstan consumes on average about 26,400

kWh/year (heating and appliances). 4 IEA, 2016.

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Sustainable energy development is further hampered by a lack of institutions dedicated and

geared to implementation, the existence of sufficient primary legislation to facilitate the

achievement of sustainable development goals being introduced only recently (and not yet across

the whole region), inadequate secondary legislation and regulations to enforce primary

legislation, and untapped potential of various Renewable Energy sources5 (both at utility scale

and decentralised). Owing to prevalent traditional anticipation of gender roles, women are

underrepresented in the energy sector and energy policy-making in particular, and face a variety

of barriers and challenges with respect to labour market entrance, career development, income

inequality and investment options.

Policy Framework (Global, EU) 1.2

According to the New European Consensus on Development ‘Our World, Our Dignity, Our

Future’, “the EU and its Member States will pursue three interlinked key objectives: (i)

addressing the lack of energy access; (ii) increasing energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy

(RE) generation to achieve a sustainable balance between energy production and consumption;

and (iii) contributing to the global fight against climate change in line with the Paris Agreement

and the related nationally determined contributions (NDCs) presented by the Parties”.6 The

ambitious collective European development policy addresses in an integrated manner the key

elements of the 2030 Agenda: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership. Specific to

Central Asia and connecting the sub-region with bordering countries and sub-regions, the Action

is guided by the new ‘EU Strategy on Central Asia’ that was adopted in 2019,7 and the

‘Communication and relative Council Conclusions on Asia-Europe connectivity’ from 2018.8

The new EU Strategy on Central Asia commits to “building upon the region’s potential in solar,

wind and hydroelectric energy” in order to “contribute to strengthening the region's energy

resilience, helping to meet its climate objectives, and creating jobs and business opportunities on

both sides.” In the Connectivity paper, the EU commits to promoting the development of energy

networks to establish cross-border connectivity based on EU best practice. Operationally, the

main regional programme under the framework is the Multiannual Indicative Programme (MIP)

for Central Asia for the period 2014-2020. The MIP sets out support for two focal sectors – the

“energy” area being within the ‘Regional Sustainable Development’ sector. This sector also

provides support to the environment/water and socio-economic development fields.

The action contributes to the fulfilment of international human rights commitments in the

beneficiary countries, particularly the economic and social rights (access to adequate standard of

living, including equal access to energy without discrimination), and to the Convention on the

5 Estimated technical potential for installed renewable electricity capacity (with actual 2017 capacity in brackets): Kazakhstan:

Solar PV 3,760 GW (<100 MW), Wind 354 GW (~100 MW), Small Hydropower 4.8 GW(115 MW), Biomass 300 MW (0);

Kyrgyzstan: Solar PV 267 GW (0), Wind 1.5 GW (0), Small Hydropower 1.8 GW (123 MW), Biomass 200 MW (0);

Tajikistan: Solar PV 195 GW (< 1 MW), Wind 2 GW (0), Small Hydropower 23 GW (132 MW), Biomass 300 MW (0);

Turkmenistan: Solar PV 655 GW (0), Wind 10 GW (0), Small Hydropower 1.3 GW (5 MW), Biomass 0 (0); Uzbekistan: Solar

PV 593 GW (<1 MW), Wind 1.6 GW (<1 MW), Small Hydropower 1.8 GW (394 MW), Biomass 800 MW (1.5 MW). Sources:

UNDP, Renewable Energy Snapshot, 2012 and UNECE REN21 Renewable Energy 2017 Status Report (for 2017 capacities). 6 Consensus on Development, p. 23. https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/sites/devco/files/european-consensus-on-development-final-

20170626_en.pdf 7 Council adopts Joint Communication from the EEAS and Commission setting the framework for the new Strategy.

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2019/06/17/central-asia-council-adopts-a-new-eu-strategy-for-the-

region/ 8Joint Communication to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of

the Regions and the European Investment Bank. https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-

homepage_en/50708/Connecting%20Europe%20and%20Asia:%20Building%20blocks%20for%20an%20EU%20Strategy

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Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, both ratified by all participating

countries. The Action also contributes to the EU Gender Action Plan II (GAP II) (2016-2020), in

particular its objective 15 on equal access by women to financial services, productive resources

including land, trade and entrepreneurship and objective 16 on equal access and control over

clean water, energy, transport infrastructure, and equitable engagement in their management,

enjoyed by girls and women. Moreover, the Action directly promotes the working principles of

the rights-based approach: participation, non-discrimination and equal access, accountability and

transparency.

In terms of country-specific global commitments, the present action is in line with the countries’

relevant NDCs.9 Kazakhstan, for example, pledged to make a significant contribution to reducing

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through “modernisation of key infrastructure and production

technologies based on energy-efficient technologies.“ Similarly, Tajikistan has pledged to

develop “renewable sources of energy, energy saving and energy efficiency“ in order to reduce

its GHG. Turkmenistan sets to achieve “energy efficiency and conservation, sustainable use of

natural gas and petroleum products, [and] increased use of alternative energy sources’ are the

main priorities of the policy for limiting GHG emissions. Uzbekistan committed to “advanced

energy saving and environmentally sound technologies“ with support from international

organisations and financial institutions. In comparison to the aforementioned countries,

Kyrgyzstan’s NDC does not explicitly reference sustainable energy, EE, RE, or diversification. It

does, however, mention an expected reduction in current hydropower potential due to climate

change and water flows, and a consequent mismatch between demand and supply of electricity.

Public Policy Analysis of the Partner Region/Countries 1.3

All Central Asian countries are members of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation

(CAREC) and the Energy Charter Treaty. In addition, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are members of

the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) grouping. Compared to Europe and the South Caucasus

which for 2015 have respectively 13.1% and 15.6% as a share of RE in their Total Final Energy

Consumption (TFEC), in Central Asia the percentage is between 3-4%10

. Large hydropower

(such as greater than 10 MW) is excluded in this calculation as large hydro plants are generally

associated with significant negative social and ecological impacts due to a lack of safeguards

and/or their enforcement. Negative impacts include land conflict and displacement, detrimental

effects on natural habitats, land, river flows and fish migration patterns, water quality and the

formation of methane gas in reservoirs.

The record is also stark for EE, with Europe and the Caucasus energy intensity equated at 0.13

toe/1,000 USD (2010 GDP PPP) and Central Asia being over 60% higher at 0.2111

An

unqualified comparison can perhaps be overplayed; however, it is clear that the technical

potential of both EE and RE in Central Asia (based on Governments and IFI/donor analyses)

remains significantly under-exploited while their economics and financing remain under serious

challenges.

Hydropower plants, of which most large hydro capacity, account for a large share of the energy

mix for Kyrgyzstan (85% of the electricity balance) and Tajikistan (98% of the balance). In

9 https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NDCStaging/Pages/All.aspx

10 IEA, 2016 11 Source: SE4ALL Tracking Framework, https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/results and IEA, 2016- units are in toe /1,000 USD

(2010 GDP PPP.

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contrast, oil and coal account for a bigger portion of Kyrgyzstan’s Primary Energy Supply. In

Tajikistan’s rural areas, the population remains heavily dependent on biomass for heat supply.

Another Tajik-specific challenge is the country’s debt sustainability issues: since 2018, the

World Bank considers Tajikistan under high financial distress due to high debts preventing the

government to contract new loans. For both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, RE laws set tariffs, which

are not implemented in practice in the absence of relevant secondary legislation. The existing low

electricity tariffs do not allow developing feasible RE projects. The power sector suffers from

high technical and non-technical losses, the government lacks awareness and capacity in EE, has

not yet developed EE programs and set institutional responsibilities in both countries.

In comparison, parts of the region have embraced the sustainable energy transition with more

conviction, especially in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which are adopting new legislation, tools

and targets to increase RE generation (e.g. through auctions) and integration to the transmission

and distribution grid and improve energy efficiency standards. However, both of these countries

are still at the early stages of such a transition. Coal, used to power 72% of the country’s

electricity generation, oil, accounting for about a quarter of GDP and about 60% of total exports,

and gas (net natural gas exporter in 2003) dominate Kazakhstan’s energy profile. In Uzbekistan,

natural gas dominates the electricity production, with a 73% share which adds to 84% if coal is

included. Yet prospects are promising, as the Uzbek economy is undergoing a substantial

transformation that also encompasses the energy sector, generating opportunities for private and

foreign investors in EE/RE as part of the new socio-economic agenda. Unlike in Tajikistan and

Kyrgyzstan, an EE Strategy as well as an EE Fund is under preparation. A new RE law has been

adopted in 2019, together with the creation of a Ministry of Energy and a reform of the electricity

sector separating power generation and transmission/distribution (‘unbundling’) to attract private

investors.

In comparison to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan which will need to push forward reforms into

secondary legislation and implementation thereof, and to shift from large hydro-focused policy,

Turkmenistan’s ambitions for EE and RE are at an even more premature phase. That is, national

energy strategy for 2013-2020 envisages using RE for power generation as well as new gas-

turbine power plants and high-voltage transmission lines. There is no EE Strategy, neither on the

end-user/demand side such as the housing sector. Turkmenistan has reportedly high potential for

solar and wind energy, but rich gas and oil deposits as well as extremely low or even absent

energy tariffs are strong disincentives for investments in RE capacity. Similarly, the high EE

potential faces huge barriers, with binding targets, policies and a legal and regulatory framework

not yet being developed.

Stakeholder Analysis 1.4

The stakeholders can be categorized as governmental actors, local authorities, public institutions

(duty-bearers) and populations living in the region, including women, youth, people living in

poverty or being marginalised, such as persons with disabilities, refugees, minorities, and persons

living in rural remote areas (rights-holders). Duty-bearers can be categorized according to their

main functional areas: Regional, Strategy, policy and legislation, Implementation, Regulation,

Data/Statistics and others.

At regional level: Two notable regional institutions are the Central Asian Regional Economic

Cooperation (CAREC) and the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). All Central Asian

countries are members of both organisations.

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At central strategy, policy and legislation level: The highest Energy and EE/RE policy-making

bodies are often the ministries of Energy. Other involved ministries include those in charge of the

Economy, Finance, Investment and Development, Water, Environment and also Climate Change

issues and ministries in charge of gender equality/women’s affairs as well as sectoral issues –

such as agriculture, social protection, transport, industry (or new technologies) and buildings.

Civil society organisations from all participating countries will be involved in the planning and

policy-making process as ‘watchdogs’ and representatives of the rights-holders representing

different groups, including business associations, women and those living in vulnerable situation.

At national regulatory level: Two national regulators providing market monitoring as well as

other functions have been identified so far – the Committee for Regulation of Natural

Monopolies and Protection of Competition under the Ministry of National Economy

(Kazakhstan) and the State Agency for Regulation of the Fuel-Energy Sector (Kyrgyzstan). In the

other countries, the regulation function is located more directly inside the ministries.

At policy implementation: The main EE implementation agency in Kazakhstan is the Electric

Power and Energy Saving Institute (under the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure

Development). In the other Central Asian countries, implementation of EE policy remains with

the policy-maker (the Ministry or equivalent) or is fragmented across a number of bodies. In

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the relevant parties are the State Committee on Industry, Energy and

Subsoil Use and the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources, respectively. In terms of

companies, the Transmission System Operators and Distribution System Operators in each of the

countries are also direct or indirect actors for EE. Oil and Gas companies (such as Turkmengas,

KazMunayGas and Uzbekneftegaz), district heating and Combined Heat and Power companies

are also involved in promoting EE. For RE, the main implementing bodies include DSOs,

Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC), National Energy Holding Company

(Kyrgyzstan), Barqi Tojik (Tajikistan), Pamir Energy (a RE generator and distributor in

Tajikistan), TurkmEnergo, and in UzbekistanUzbekEnergo and the recently created (post-

unbundling) transmission company “National Electrical Power Grids of Uzbekistan”.

At standards, research and statistical level: Agencies dealing specifically with RE and/or EE

technical issues are the agencies for Standardization (EE Standards and Labels), Metrology,

Certification and Trade Inspection (Tajikistan), Research Institute of Construction and

Architecture, Academy of Sciences (Tajikistan and Turkmenistan), Research Institute Physics-

Sun (Academy of Science) and International Solar Energy Institute (Uzbekistan). Reference

agencies in terms of energy data and statistics remain the national statistical bodies providing, at

least, annual National Energy Balances.

During the inception phase, as a part of gender and human rights analysis a further analysis will

be conducted to assess the capabilities of duty-bearers to fulfil their obligations towards rights-

holders (regulations, systems, monitoring mechanisms, etc.) and rights-holders’ capacities to

claim their rights related to the sector (access to information, access to services, discrimination

etc.).

Problem Analysis/Priority Areas for Support 1.5

Although this is a regional programme, the intervention will work both at the regional and

national level. This combination is necessary because for many years Central Asian countries

have prioritised links with the outside world over regional integration. The recent changes in

Uzbekistan have brought new impetus to regional cooperation. Still, the inertia of the previous

policies and mistrust due to the countries’ leadership tendency to look after their own interests

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even at the expense of their neighbours dictates very careful intervention in securing political

endorsement in each of the five counties. On top of the need for regional cooperation on a such

transboundary area, there is a growingly alarming need to tackle climate change through

sustainable energy development.

The region is specifically vulnerable to climate change impacts; average temperatures have

increased by 0.5°C to 1.6°C since 1950s, and the region knows countless weather-related

disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The Emergency Events Database evidences the

historical impact of major disasters on Central Asia over the past 17 years. The biggest impact

was caused by extreme temperatures that affected over 2 million people and resulted in close to

US$ 1 billion damages; and floods that have affected over 600,000 people and resulted in over

US$ 500 million damages.12

Earthquakes pose a severe threat to all the major cities in Central

Asia and overwhelming majority of the population, with historical earthquakes destroying

Almaty in 1911, Ashgabat in 1948 and Tashkent in 1966.

In addition to hazards, climate change is causing economic losses from 0.4 to 1.3 percent of GDP

per year. It is predicted that in 2050 climate change impacts in Central Asia will lead to a

decrease up to 10.72 percent of the region's GDP.13

Climate change hazards will inevitably affect

the energy sector – notably across the areas of electricity generation, transmission and

distribution. More efficient use of natural resources, however, could contribute to positive

economic growth, in which case the region could have positive GDP growth of up to 11.5 per

cent.14

The EU is working towards this through the ongoing WECOOP and CAWEP (formerly

known as CAEWDP) programmes focused on environment, climate change, water and its linkage

to energy. Through the proposed programme SECCA, the EU will further feed into tackling

climate change through optimising EE and RE development.

EE and RE investments remain below the countries’ objectives for a variety of reasons, including

market, financial, implementation capacity, technical and other barriers. Main barriers to

developing EE and RE are high investment costs, the low level of conventional power and gas

tariffs, the lack – in some cases – of embedded infrastructure to integrate a greater share of RE,

the lack of access to substantial financial capital/investments to support greater RE

(notwithstanding IFI/donor contribution) and higher EE, the lack of significant industrial

manufacturing, the lack of technical capacities to adequately install and maintain those new

technologies.

2 RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS

RISKS Risk level

(H/M/L) Mitigating Measures

Lack of political commitment to

market-oriented pricing

implementation results in

continued low tariffs/high

M Support best-practice legislation/regulations/pricing

methodologies/direct subsidisation schemes targeting

households/persons living in poverty and in vulnerable

situations without access to sufficient energy and utilise an

12

GFDRR, World Bank, Europe and Central Asia Country risk profiles for Floods and Earthquakes, 2015,

http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/513771494410404993/Europe-and-Central-Asia-country-risk-profiles-

for-floods-and-earthquakes 13

World Bank statistics, https://www.ibtimes.com/global-warming-water-scarcity-could-cause-economies-shrink-

mid-century-world-bank-2364080 14

Ibid.

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universal subsidies and cross-

subsidies, and lack of

maintenance and new

investments in both EE and RE

sectors.

array of soft measures (e.g., meetings, workshops, seminars)

with relevant institutions and stakeholders to provide rationale

cases for further market orientation and development. Identify

long-term opportunities to address tariffs and subsidies by

improving regulatory capacity at relevant intermediary

institutions.

Lack of human capacity and

awareness (knowledge and

experience) inhibits and nullifies

efforts to develop gender-

sensitive and rights-based EE and

RE projects and measures in

Central Asian countries.

M Support technical capacity among key players in the EE and

RE sector, i.e. project developers, financiers, engineers and

technicians, policymakers, and planners. Complementarity

with other donor-supported projects and national initiatives

will provide for improved awareness and long-term capacities

at universities on EE and RE and vocational schools in energy

saving devices and techniques.

Lack of financing environment

conducive to implement

renewable energy and energy

efficient projects.

H Identify innovative financing mechanisms for renewable

energy projects or strengthen existing ones, including regional

loan structures, auctions and technical assistance to banks.

Existing window to access blending mechanisms could favour

this development. The proposed action also includes support

measures for the development of feasibility studies for

bankable projects.

Reliable data/information

systems for and standards to

support EE and RE are still

scarce due to the lack of

incentives/motivation for data

collection and management

coupled with a legacy of low

transparency and general distrust.

M Strengthen and expand existing Information systems,

including improved disaggregated data collection to track

inequalities regarding access to energy (sex, age, disability,

household location urban/rural etc.). Develop standards to

support EE, RE and climate-proofing at relevant institutions

(e.g., departments of energy, surveys, statistics and building).

Seek complementarity with other supporting initiatives and

strategic support to identified stakeholders.

Lack of political will to develop

regional cooperation in

sustainable energy

M Increase awareness on needs and benefits for regional

cooperation in energy and water sectors. Facilitate political

and working contacts among the countries.

Lack of capacity and political

will to tackle corruption in the

energy sector.

H Combat corruption in a comprehensive way, take effective

policy solutions, including measures to enhance transparency

of procurement processes, prevent conflicts of interests as well

as take measures to ensure enforcement and detection.

Risk of human rights violations

committed by the private sector

actors.

M Private sector will abide by the UN Guiding Principles on

Business and Human Rights.

Assumptions A continued stable political, market and financial climate at regional level in general, and at the

country level in particular, is needed in order to provide effective promotion and growth in sustainable energy and

secure investments notably by the private sector and households. Supported by this proposed Action and beyond,

Central Asian countries need to be self-committed to setting realistic EE and RE targets (as some of them, i.e.

Kzakhstan and Uzbekistan, hae already started to do) and action plans for 5 to 15 years ahead, providing

appropriate economic, human and financial resources to achieve those targets (supported by IFIs/donors) and to put

in place modernising legal, regulatory, pricing and other systems, policies and practices that will allow for the most

cost-effective deployment of EE and RE investments and measures.

3 LESSONS LEARNT, COMPLEMENTARITY AND CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

Lessons learnt 3.1

Past and current EU-funded regional interventions in the EE and RE sectors in Central Asia are

relatively limited. Under the INOGATE Programme, the most recent intervention was the

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Sustainable Energy Programme for Central Asia: Renewable Energy Sources – Energy

Efficiency (CASEP) (2012-2015). CASEP focused on policy design and formulation (of e.g.

action plans)15

towards the deployment of EE and RE sources at national and regional levels,

professional development of local partners in EE and RE policies and instruments, the

implementation of sustainable EE/RE pilot projects (although this was later rescinded) and

awareness-raising on EE/RE.

Based on the CASEP lessons, it is important to ensure the following:

Setting agreed priorities of the activities together with the relevant beneficiaries through

policy dialogue to ensure their strong involvement and ownership from the very beginning.

This Action has been designed with input from country representatives, through field visits

to each of the five countries.

Establishing inter-institutional working groups to provide a broad platform for discussion to

all the stakeholders, is important for increasing the chances of practical implementation of

strategies and action plans.

Having a regional centre to share practices/lessons learnt using experience and expertise

already existing in the region, coupled with strengthening long-term capacities at relevant

national institutions, is a very effective instrument for building capacity, disseminating the

most efficient solutions in the region and ensuring sustainability of the interventions. The

country representatives as well as in-country donors expressed positive views when

consulted on the creation of such a Centre.

Representatives from all five beneficiary countries admitted16

some of the persisting challenges

and the need for addressing differentiated access to energy resources and use of energy services

by women and men in rural and urban areas, developing women’s leadership, expanding

women’s professional opportunities in the sector and enhancing girls’ involvement in science

and technology. Assessments by IFIs/Donors, international institutes and national governments

show that EE and RE potentials remain vast, mainly with respect to solar PV, hydropower and

wind, as well as the scope to improve efficiencies across the power sector, public, commercial

and residential buildings space, industry, transport and agriculture sectors.

3.2 Complementarity, Synergy and Donor Coordination

This action will benefit from synergies with a number of complementary actions and instruments,

notably the EU4Energy Programme (2016 – 2020), which aims to improve energy statistics and

policy dialogue in the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries. Other relevant EU

programmes include Central Asia Water and Energy Programme (CAWEP, 2009 onwards), a

knowledge and technical assistance multi-donor trust fund that is now funded by the EU, SECO,

DFID and administered by the World Bank. CAWEP aims to strengthen the enabling

environment to promote energy and water security at both regional and national levels. Through

the EU-Central Asia Water, Environment and Climate Change Cooperation (WECOOP, third

phase 2019-2022), the EU supports efforts in the region to enhance environment, climate change

and water policies at national levels in Central Asia, and approximate them to EU standards. One

noteworthy country-specific programme is the KyrSEFF, the EU-supported EBRD investment

15 Based on discussions with a CASEP expert, Action Plans were supported in Kyrgyzstan (approved by Government) and in

Tajikistan (which were not approved). 16

Countries shared their goals and challenges at a Women in Energy workshop organized by UNECE in cooperation with UNDP

and KAZENERGY, during the World Petroleum Council Meeting in Kazakhstan (2018)

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programme for Kyrgyzstan, which also covers policy, legal and regulatory barriers to investment

in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

SWITCH-Asia II (2014-2020) supports the Central Asian countries’ sustainable consumption and

production with a budget of €13 million. The Central Asia Invest (CAI) – Boosting Small

Business Competitiveness (2007 – to date) has been supporting the development of the private

sector with a special emphasis on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The

Central Asia Regional Initiative by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2017

onwards) covers resource assessments, integration of RE in power grids, policies and regulations

for renewable energy deployment, renewable energy statistics and data collection, project

facilitation and raising awareness. The Central Asia Regional Economic Co-operation support

(CAREC) is managed by the ADB. The CAREC Energy Strategy and Work Plan (EWP) 2016-

202017

set thematic priorities to (a) develop and invest in priority projects, (b) develop

sustainable energy resources, (c) develop capacity, knowledge and demonstration of technology,

(d) establish robust legal and regulatory framework for private investments, and (e) support

cross-border energy trade. The Power the Future Programme (2018 – 2021), which is funded by

USAID, provides TA and CB to the five countries to strengthen and operate an economically

viable market-based regional power system. Another specific project is the Central Asia

Regional Electricity Market (CAREM), which seeks improvements to technical conditions to

facilitate trade and bilateral power exchanges. In 2019, UNIDO and the Economic Cooperation

Organization (ECO18

) plan to study the creation of the ECO Clean Energy Centre (CECECO) to

cover from 2020 the ECO region composed of 11 countries including the five Central Asian

countries. It shall join the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC)

Programme19

within the SE4All initiative.

4 DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION

Overall Objective, Specific Objectives, Outputs and Indicative Activities 4.1

The Overall Objective (impact) of this Action is to promote a more sustainable energy mix in

the Central Asia region in line with EU best practices.

This Action has the following two Specific Objectives (outcomes):

Specific Objective 1: Strengthened and more inclusive policy, regulatory and institutional

framework for the transition to a sustainable energy system, within a regional context.

Specific Objective 2: Increased investment, capacity and awareness in sustainable energy in the

Central Asia region.

The following outputs and indicative activities are planned under these two outcomes (outputs

1.1, 1.2, 1.3 being linked to Specific Objective 1, and output 2.1 being linked to Specific

Objective 2):

Output 1.1: Strengthened public capacities for governance, strategy development, gender

inclusive policy design and regulatory framework for EE and RE deployment

Promote and assist in development of Regional and Country-specific Governance for gender

and climate sensitive EE and RE, including introduction or (as relevant) improvement of best

17 https://www.carecprogram.org/uploads/2015-SOM-September-Strategy-Work-Plan.pdf 18 http://www.eco.int/ 19 https://www.se4allnetwork.org/

12

practice, legislation, strategies, policies, action plans, programmes and other measures taking

into account economic, financial, social, environmental and technical and gender related

barriers to greater EE and RE deployment. This should include tailor-made technical support

for each country based on their current state of play;

Support the countries to develop an EU-Central Asia Sustainable Energy Centre that will

assist in greater EE and RE harmonisation and facilitation of EE and RE financing and

investments in the region without gender-based or other discrimination;

Engage the countries with periodic high-level discussions/debates and technical working

meetings between EU and Central Asia representatives on important regional and country EE

and RE issues as recommendations to remove country-specific barriers. One area where the

EU could provide useful expertise is the support to regions moving from coal to more

sustainable energy sources;

Provide trainings on EE/RE to selected personnel in the energy administration and sector

notably to support women’s participation, female entrepreneurship and business

opportunities.

Assist all or some of the Central Asian countries in developing and enforcing rights-based

and gender sensitive National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAP) and National

Energy Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAP), covering energy supply and end-use sectors to

promote equal access to sustainable energy to all, to increase women’s participation in

decision-making and management of the energy and related sectors, and to promote equal

opportunities for female entrepreneurship, jobs and career development;

Technical Assistance to the countries in developing, harmonising and enforcing Minimum

Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and labels for electrical appliances, and buildings,

green building codes and related technical standards and regulations;

Technical Assistance to some or all countries to establish Energy Auditing for sustainable

and climate proof buildings and industry;

Provide training for eligible institutions in the development, planning and implementation of

projects in the framework of Horizon 2020 and other relevant EU programmes on Sustainable

Energy R&D and deployment;

Enable and organise EU-CA country Sustainable Energy Days in liaison with the EU

Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) that display EU, regional (other CA) and local EE/RE

deployed technologies.

Output 1.2: Public awareness raised on EE and RE importance and technology

Increase the exposure of Central Asian countries’ universities to EE and RE knowledge,

possibly by establishing new course curricula, internships and other mechanisms;

Develop an outreach plan towards policy-makers on Regional and Country Energy

Modelling;

Production and online publication of short videos and short reports on good practices;

including good practices on gender-responsive rights-based approach in the energy sector.

Output 1.3: Strengthened capacities for management of energy data, information and modelling

In complement to and follow-up of the EU4Energy Programme, provide technical assistance

to the countries to enhance their existing regional and national statistical data, including

collection of sex, age, disability, location urban/rural – disaggregated data (towards EU and

international standards) and information on capabilities and capacities, including to integrate

human rights and gender perspectives in energy policies, programmes and projects;

Maintain information sharing;

13

Support some or all countries to develop up to date residential, commercial and industrial

surveys, in order to strengthen the accuracy of SDG7 reporting, interlinkages between SDG 7

and SDG 5, and to shape future sustainable energy policies;

Enable some or all countries to develop comprehensive national energy system databases to

assist in developing country Energy Balances in line with EU and international standards;

Develop a Regional Central Asia Energy Model taking into account projected climate change

impacts as a strategy-policy decision support tool.20

Output 2.1: Enhanced identification and accessibility of EE and RE investment projects, and the

most appropriate technologies and innovative financing mechanisms taking into account equal

opportunities, and fair and effective participation of women.

Provide TA to the countries for developing replicable pilot EE and RE investment projects (to

be eventually financed by other sources such as EU Investment Facility for Central Asia

(IFCA)) that enhance regional connectivity. All projects should include gender equality and

Environmental and Strategic Impact Assessments and Gender Audits;

Organise meetings with countries and IFIs (in particular EBRD, EIB, ADB, WB, AFD and

GIZ-KfW), to enable cooperation for the identification and development of bankable EE and

RE investment projects suitable for funding, notably under the EU IFCA;

Organize contacts and exchanges between EE and RE stakeholders both in the region and in

the EU and present them with opportunities for replication of the pilot projects;

Support collection and dissemination of information, for policy use, on gender equality in

different target groups of the SE sector.

Intervention Logic 4.2

The results of the proposed Action will enhance capacity, knowledge and understanding of the

stakeholders through notably regionally designed and organised discussions, meetings,

workshops, seminars, conferences, study tours, events, on-the-job trainings, paper, drafted

reports, legislation, regulations and other documentation to increase substantially the likelihood

of ownership and deployment and implementation of the policy, regulatory and institutional

mechanisms enabling the penetration of renewable energy sources in the energy mix of Central

Asian countries as well as increasing the energy efficiency. The range of activities undertaken

will promote closer collaboration and cooperation between the countries within their energy

administrations and sectors through further awareness of EU best practices, lessons learnt and

knowledge of shared benefits.

To ensure sustainability of the results, it would be important to test the feasibility of and possibly

support the development and operation of an EU-Central Asia Sustainable Energy Centre. Given

that UNIDO’s plan for ECO Clean Energy Centre is yet to materialise, and considering that it

will cover 11 countries, the proposed Action will test the idea of establishing a Central Asia

20 Extending the support under the current IEA-managed EU4Energy Programme, a possible framework, among others, could be

a Regional TIMES model, which offers the advantage of calculating least cost solutions for the development of the Central

Asia Energy system under a number of policy, technical and other constraints. The Regional Central Asia Energy Model would

incorporate environment effects (emissions) and can also analyse the water-energy nexus, and a multi-regional model,

including all the countries could be used to analyse synergies and trade-offs of the region. In Central Asia with large fossil fuel

reserves, which are currently mainly exported, the regional analysis is important since it can provide insights on the

advantages/disadvantages of cooperative and non-cooperative strategies. The water-energy nexus is also important to be

addressed at a regional level to take into account the water related issues in the whole region, energy trade, oil & gas

deployment, cooperative and non-cooperative strategies.

14

specific Centre. Such Centre would facilitate regional cooperation and harmonisation on EU

EE/RE deployment approaches, standards, technologies, and gender related issues as well as

facilitating financing of investment projects.

To illustrate, at the levels of strategy, policy, data and information level (Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 1.3),

the Centre would act as a lodestar for EU rights-based approach to development and best

practice. It would thereby promote rights-based and gender sensitive policies, legislation,

regulation, energy system planning and modelling, pricing mechanisms, standards, protocols,

digitalisation, technologies and capacity building that would promote equal opportunities and

equal access to energy to all, including women and persons/households that are in vulnerable

situation. Training and capacity building benefits would also materialise with country and

regional trainings (e.g. best practice training and development of Energy Managers, Energy

Auditors, installers etc.) in the countries. Such a bottom-up process would complement the top-

down “big energy” drivers from CAREC, and over time promote greater regional assimilation

and cooperation through a more sustainable energy system.

At a financial level, the Centre would act as investment project bundler (Output 2.1). This would

apply to both EE and RE investment Projects. Small distributed RE projects (e.g. micro grid level

or bigger) in a country could be bundled together for financing eligibility. This Centre could do

this at a national level. Furthermore, the Centre will address different target groups and take into

account different interests, areas of concern and levels of access to financing and technology

information by men and women, differentiated by affordability and access in urban and rural

areas. Bundling these projects together would assist in being able to access finance, including

through blending mechanisms. Organisationally, the Centre would comprise, among others,

national specialists/investments officers able to initiate and organise the bundling.

Finally, the Centre has the potential to be the focal point and reference of regional cooperation on

SE in CA, in particular to initiate, develop and manage regional initiatives and SE projects

(notably on training and capacity building, policy and regulatory analysis and advice, SE

investment development, etc.) as well as identify and secure co-financing sources that will

contribute to its sustainability. This key function can ensure a critical advantage effect not only at

financial level but also in terms of credibility as proven by other Regional Centres in other

regions as the Regional Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE) for

MENA and the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) in Asia. In short, this Centre will provide for a

sustainable platform for the outputs and activities thereunder, but also catalyse and foster greater

regional integration and connectivity in the long run.

While such Centres have proven to be successful in other sub-regions, such as the Middle East,

South-East Asia and Latin America, the notion of country ownership through any sort of regional

forum in Central Asia remains relatively under-researched. The formulation of the present

programme is based on a 1-year desk and field study that included preliminary questions to

Central Asian Ministries about such a Centre: initial soundings over an EU-Central Asia

Sustainable Energy Centre were very positive. The present programme will for the first time test

the appetite for such a Centre through a dedicated feasibility study that will act as seed funding.

While the decision to create a regional centre is purely political and could well be made up of

some (not all) Central Asian countries, the assessment as such will need to be undertaken by

technical experts managed through this programme. Relevant ministers from interested countries

could decide to establish the centre based on topical experts from each of the ministries in

combination with technical experts through donor-funded projects.

15

Mainstreaming 4.3

The Action will address environment and climate change by promoting EE and RE and

integrating climate change concerns in developing capacity, strengthening the regulatory &

policy framework. The Action will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt the energy

sector to climate change impacts and enhance the efficient use of natural resources through

increased energy efficiency, further use of renewable energy sources. Indirect effects (or positive

externalities) of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies include the improvement

of the safety and health of citizens by providing appropriate energy solutions notably to support

off-grid developments (e.g., mountainous areas in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). Moreover, the

Action mainstreams conflict sensitivity through its regional approach. The current reduction and

higher variations of river flows and precipitations caused by the climate change risk leading to

tensions between the countries related to energy and water supply. Regional and EU-CA

cooperation and dialogue supported by the Action will help to identify common needs and

opportunities for climate mitigation and adaptation and contribute into broader cooperation of

Central Asian countries with neighbours, including Afghanistan, Iran and China. Thirdly, this

project will act as a catalyst in developing economic and climate resilience in the region,

notably for small and medium sized businesses getting access to funding that enables more cost-

efficient energy consumption and development of climate proof energy models, and RE and EE

infrastructure. The Action will also mainstream gender by supporting evidence-based and EU

best practice gender inclusive policies and legislation both for EE and RE, and bottom-up

activities like training and capacity building. Gender equality and Women’s and Girls’

Empowerment is perceived as a significant objective, as gender equality is embedded in

Specific Objective 1.

Contribution to SDGs 4.4

This intervention is relevant for the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It

contributes primarily to the progressive achievement of SDG 7 and SDG 13, while also

contributing to SDG 5. Through promoting a more sustainable energy mix in the region in line

with EU best practices, cleaner (SDG 13) and more cost-efficient energy will allow electricity at

more affordable tariffs (SDG 7).

5 IMPLEMENTATION

Financing agreement 5.1

In order to implement this action, it is not foreseen to conclude a financing agreement with the

partner countries.

Indicative Implementation Period 5.2

The indicative operational implementation period of this action, during which the activities

described in Section 4 will be carried out and the corresponding contract implemented, is 48

months from the date of the adoption by the Commission of this Financing Decision. Extensions

of the implementation period may be agreed by the Commission’s responsible authorising officer

by amending this Decision and the relevant contracts and agreements.

16

Implementation Modalities 5.3

The Commission will ensure that the EU appropriate rules and procedures for providing

financing to third parties are respected, including review procedures, where appropriate, and

compliance of the action with EU restrictive measures.21

Procurement (direct management) 5.3.1

It is envisaged that all four Outputs of this Action will be achieved through Procurement for

services (Service Provider) with the European Commission as Contracting Authority. A

Technical Assistance Team will assist the Beneficiary countries in the implementation of the

activities to achieve the defined outputs. A combination of International and Local-in-Country

Experts configuration will be strongly recommended in order to strengthen capacity building and

grow internal national competencies.

Scope of Geographical Eligibility for Procurement and Grants 5.4

The geographical eligibility in terms of place of establishment for participating in procurement

and grant award procedures and in terms of origin of supplies purchased as established in the

basic act and set out in the relevant contractual documents shall apply.

The Commission's authorising officer responsible may extend the geographical eligibility on the

basis of urgency or of unavailability of products and services in the markets of the countries

concerned, or in other duly substantiated cases where the eligibility rules would make the

realisation of this action impossible or exceedingly difficult.

Indicative Budget 5.5

The indicative Budget for this Action is as follows:

Items

EU Contribution

[EUR]

Indicative Third

Party Contribution

Identified

[EUR]

Direct Management – Procurement 7 900 000 N/A

Evaluation, (cf. section 5.8), Audit (cf. 5.9) Will be covered by

another decision

N/A

Communication and visibility (cf. section 5.10) 100 000 N/A

Totals 8 000 000 N/A

Organisational Set-up and Responsibilities 5.6

A service provider will implement the project. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) will perform

the overall supervision and steering of the project. The European Commission will chair the PSC.

The permanent members would comprise of representatives from each country’s relevant line

Ministry or Ministries, representatives of time-specific beneficiaries from each country,

21

www.sanctionsmap.eu Please note that the sanctions map is an IT tool for identifying the sanctions regimes. The

source of the sanctions stems from legal acts published in the Official Journal (OJ). In case of discrepancy between

the published legal acts and the updates on the website, it is the OJ version that prevails.

17

representatives of the EU Delegations in the region, representatives of the Service Provider. In

addition, other IFI/donor supported programmes representatives could be invited to participate as

observers. Participation in the Steering Committee would be open to other institutions as deemed

appropriate throughout the course of project implementation.

The Service Provider would be responsible for the timely and regular convening of the PSC,

record keeping of its minutes and timely distribution of the minutes and other relevant project

documentation. For each of Outputs, it is also expected that Short-term Experts can and will be

brought in, on-demand, for specific and time bound tasks. Gender equality, human rights and

rights-based approach expertise will be ensured during the implementation of the Action as much

as possible. These elements will be also integrated in relevant capacity building activities and

documents (including ToRs) as minimum requirements of the implementers' expertise.

Performance and Results Monitoring and Reporting 5.7

The day-to-day technical and financial monitoring of the implementation of this action will be a

continuous process, and part of the implementing partner’s responsibilities. To this aim, the

implementing partner shall establish a permanent internal, technical and financial monitoring

system for the Action and elaborate regular progress reports (not less than annual) and final

reports. Every report shall provide an accurate account of implementation of the action,

difficulties encountered, changes introduced, as well as the degree of achievement of its results

(outputs and direct outcomes) as measured by corresponding indicators, using as reference the

Logframe matrix.

Reports shall be laid out in such a way as to allow monitoring of the means envisaged and

employed and of the budget details for the action. The final report, narrative and financial, will

cover the entire period of the action implementation.

The Commission may undertake additional project monitoring visits both through its own staff

and through independent consultants recruited directly by the Commission for independent

monitoring reviews (or recruited by the responsible agent contracted by the Commission for

implementing such reviews).

Evaluation 5.8

Having regard to the importance of the Action, a mid-term and ex-post evaluation will be carried

out for this action or its components via independent consultants contracted by the Commission.

The mid-term evaluation will be carried out for learning purposes, in particular with respect to

further EU support or other donor support in the area. The ex-post evaluation will be carried out

for accountability and learning purposes at various levels (including for policy revision), taking

into account in particular the fact that this Action will be testing the feasibility of a new regional

Centre.

The evaluation reports shall be shared with the partner country and other key stakeholders. The

implementing partner and the Commission shall analyse the conclusions and recommendations of

the evaluations and, where appropriate, in agreement with the partner country, jointly decide on

the follow-up actions to be taken and any adjustments necessary, including, if indicated, the

reorientation of the project.

The financing of the evaluation shall be covered by another measure constituting a financing

decision.

18

Audit 5.9

Without prejudice to the obligations applicable to contracts concluded for the implementation of

this action, the Commission may, on the basis of a risk assessment, contract independent audits

or expenditure verification assignments for one or several contracts or agreements. The financing

of the audit shall be covered by another measure constituting a financing decision.

Communication and Visibility 5.10

Communication and visibility of the EU is a legal obligation for all external actions funded by

the EU. This action shall contain communication and gender-aware visibility measures, which

shall be based on a specific Communication and Visibility Plan of the Action, to be elaborated at

the start of implementation.

In terms of legal obligations on communication and visibility, the measures shall be implemented

by the Commission, the partner country, contractors, grant beneficiaries and/or entrusted entities.

Appropriate contractual obligations shall be included in, respectively, the financing agreement,

procurement and grant contracts, and delegation agreements.

The Communication and Visibility Requirements for European Union External Action (or any

succeeding document) shall be used to establish the Communication and Visibility Plan of the

Action to fulfil the appropriate contractual obligations.

It is foreseen that a contract for communication and visibility may be contracted under a

framework contract.

19

APPENDIX - INDICATIVE LOGFRAME MATRIX (FOR PROJECT MODALITY)

Results Chain:

Main Expected

Results

Indicators Sources of data Assumptions

Imp

act

(O

ver

all

Ob

jecti

ve)

A more sustainable

energy mix in the

Central Asia region

in line with EU best

practices.

- Renewable energy production (MWh)

- Number of households using fuels for heating

replaced by RE, disaggregated by location

urban/rural

- Value of Central Asian country shares of

Renewable Energy in Total Final Energy

Consumption (%)

- Share of population using reliable electricity

by urban/ rural (SDG 7.51)

- Number of women of all ages provided with

access to sustainable energy services with EU

support, disaggregated by country, location

urban/rural (EURF, EU GAP II)

- CA countries’ Statistics Office

Reports

- CA countries’ Statistics Office

Reports

- SE4ALL SDG Tracking

service, Reports, IEA Energy

Balances;

- CA countries’ Statistics Office

Reports

- Project evaluation reports

Not applicable

20

Ou

tcom

e(s)

(S

pec

ific

Ob

ject

ive)

1. 1. Strengthened and

more inclusive

policy, regulatory

and institutional

framework for the

sustainable energy

sectors, within a

regional context

- Status of EE and RE strategies, action plans and

regulations in each CA country and the region

- Number of policies, regulations and

strategies/action plans developed with support

of the Action that are adopted by the relevant

government

- Number of Best Available Techniques (BATs)

and good practices promoted by the Action

integrated into national policies

- Status of the negotiations on a Regional

Sustainable Energy Centre

- Number of staff seconded by each CA national

government to the Regional Centre

disaggregated by sex and age

- CA countries’ Legislation,

Strategies, policies, plans and

programmes, Project

evaluations;

- CA countries’ Legislation,

Strategies, policies, plans and

programmes, Project

evaluations;

- Project evaluations;

- Regional Centre official

documents

- Regional Centre official

documents

A stable political and

financial climate at

regional level in

general, and at country

level in particular, is

prevailing, promoting

sustainable energy and

secure investments.

Ou

tcom

e(s)

(S

pec

ific

Ob

ject

ive)

2. 2. Increased

investment,

awareness and

capacity in

sustainable energy in

the Central Asia

region

- % of identified EE and RE investments that are

secured (awarded) within each CA country;

- % of projects22

developed in support of the

Action that are awarded funding through

commercial sector, EIB, EBRD or other

financial institutions thanks to support of this

Action;

- Value of CA country-specific national SE

investment programmes.

- % of NDC target achieved in each CA country

thanks to support of this Action

- Project evaluations;

- Regional Centre official

documents

- CA Countries Statistic

Services; Country and

regional reports/studies (e.g.

REN21 UNECE Status

Reports on RE);

O u t p u t s Outcome 1.1 - Status of Regional and CA country specific - National Documentation and Increased political

22 Objective of 500 MW of new RE capacity (non-hydropower): 250 MW of solar PV and 250 MW of wind power with capacity factors of 15% and 30%, respectively.

Average CA household electricity consumption: 2,500 kWh per year.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303669393_Energy_efficiency_assessment_of_household_electrical_appliances_in_Central_Asia_and_policies_for_energy_performan

ce_standards_and_labeling

21

Strengthened public

capacities for

governance, strategy

development, gender

inclusive policy

design and

regulatory

framework for

Energy Efficiency

and Renewable

Energy deployment

Energy Roadmaps or equivalent

- No. of gender sensitive and rights-based

National Renewable Energy Action Plans

(NREAPs) developed with support of this

Action

- Number of National Energy Efficiency Action

Plans (NEEAPs) developed with support of this

Action;

- Status of Minimum Energy Performance

Standards (MEPS) and Labels for electrical

appliances and buildings;

- Status of climate resilient standards for building

and construction in each CA country

- Number of Green and climate resilient building

codes in the public, commercial and private

sectors developed with support of this action;

- Number of Energy Auditing certification

schemes developed with support of this Action;

- No. of CA Country-specific EE and RE

Governance Roadmaps developed with support

of this Action

- No. of CA country-specific EE and RE

curricula developed with support of this Action

- No participants in exchange events and

workshops on energy policy (disaggregated by

country and sex).

- Gender gap in wages in the energy sector in

economic activity (SDG 5.1)

CA-EU SE Centre;

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Reports;

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Reports.

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Quarterly Project

Progress & Monitoring

Reports.

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Quarterly Project

Progress & Monitoring

Reports

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Quarterly Project

Progress & Monitoring

Reports

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Quarterly Project

Progress & Monitoring

Reports

stability and economic

mutual relations

between CA countries

and outside the region

continues to develop.

Promotion of EE and

RE deployment

remains endorsed by

political and

management

administrations.

IFI/Donor financial

contributions and

support are

maintained or

increased subject to

continued political-

economic progress.

22

Ou

tpu

ts

Outcome 1.2

Public awareness

raised on EE and RE

importance and

technology.

- Status of the Outreach programme document

- Number of people viewing the best practices

compiled, published and available on website

- Number of people reached during the

Sustainable Energy Days in liaison with the EU

Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW)

- Number of women receiving advisory

services XX with EU support, disaggregated by

country, location urban/rural (EU GAP II)

- Project documentation and

website

- Online analytics report,

Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Reports Country

and regional reports/studies

(e.g. REN21 UNECE Status

Reports on RE);

- Event documentation

Outcome 1.3

Strengthened

capacities for

management of

energy data,

information,

modelling and

standards.

- No. (%) of household expenditure surveys or

Household Budget Surveys (HBS) with energy

data;

- Completeness (%) of household expenditure

surveys or Household Budget Surveys (HBS)

with energy data;

- % of completed Energy Sector databases with

EE/RE data and other supporting

data/information in line with standards;

- No. of Regional and CA country-specific

Energy Balances in line with EU and IEA best

practices and standards;

- Number of Regional and National Energy

Modelling Systems developed with support of

this Action (e.g. TIMES, MESSAGE or LEAP);

- Number of EE, RE and climate-resilient

standards developed in CA countries with

support of this Action.

- Country and regional

reports/studies or National

Statistics Offices data. Project

Progress and Monitoring

Reports;

- RE financing mechanisms and

facilities assessment report;

- CA country investment

programmes and bankable

project documentation;

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Reports.

23

Outcome 2.1

Enhanced

identification and

accessibility of EE

and RE investment

projects, and the

most appropriate

technologies and

innovative financing

mechanisms taking

into account the fair

and effective

participation of

women.

- Number of EE and RE investment projects

developed with support of the Action

- Status of SE Financing mechanisms ensuring a

fair and effective participation of women,

- Number of investment facilities assessed by the

Action

- Number of innovative investment vehicles

designed with support of the Action;

- No. of CA EE and RE annual investment

expenditure plans and EE/RE national priority

projects for each CA country developed with

support of this Action;

- % of NDC targets achieved for each CA

country thanks to support of this Action

- % of projects developed with support of the

Action that incorporate inputs from women’s

and other civil society organizations

- % of projects developed with support of the

Action which are led by women

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Reports;

- Quarterly Project Progress &

Monitoring Reports;

- Regional Energy Balance and

Country-specific Annual

Energy Balances (e.g. IEA);

- Regional and National Energy

Modelling Systems;