Objective
The objectives of the project are
- to define the actually attainable savings and saving costs for a multi-family building in Dessau,
- to draw up the required contracting agreements,
- to promote co-operation between district heating enterprise and housing association aiming at the joint use of the present saving potentials in existing buildings in the city of Dessau,
- to document and analyse the reaction of the tenants and
- to determine the positive and the negative 'side' effects of saving impacts realised on the basis of contracting agreements (such as improvement of living quality; legal obstacles), and
- the publication and distribution of the experience gained in the process.
Contracting is of interest to many people as a viable approach to overcoming obstacles to taking advantage of existing potential for saving energy, especially in apartment buildings. This approach permits business transactions to be made with the investments in saving energy while at the same time reducing the energy demand and hence the energy costs for tenants in such apartment buildings.
The Contracting agreement has been implemented within the framework of a pilot-project for the Dessau public utility (DVV). The project is focused on the procedure as well as the experience gained and the problems encountered.
The City of Dessau is located in Eastern Germany in the State of Sachsen-Anhalt. Over 90 000 people live in Dessau. It became internationally renowned as the home of the "Bauhaus" movement. In the course of restructuring energy service in Eastern Germany following reunification, DVV was corporatized as an autonomous, municipal energy utility to supply district heating, electric power, gas, and water service.
In 1992, an energy plan was prepared as a basis for improving energy service in Dessau. This energy plan has in the meantime been gradually implemented. Within the framework of this plan, certain areas of Dessau have been prioritized for natural gas or district-heating service. Nearly 40 % of Dessau's total housing is currently connected to district-heating service.
For the most part, Dessau's residential buildings are controlled by three major housing agencies. Of the three agencies, the Dessau Housing Agency (DWG) is by far the most important. Many apartment buildings must be rehabilitated due to the fact that maintenance has been sadly neglected in the past. Because of the significant scope of rehabilitation, however, only a part of the costs can be borne by the respective agencies involved. The lack of capital confronting these agencies is further aggravated by a substantial level of prior debt; interest payments have thus proven to be an additional burden for the agencies in 1996.
At the end of 1995, DVV received approval for a subsidy to conduct a pilot-project within the framework of the SAVE Programme of the European Union. The objective of this pilot-project is to work out and formulate suitable agreements for Performance Contracting together with local housing agencies.
The project is based on the findings of an initial study conducted by the SAVE Programme for Dessau between 1993 and 1994. The focus of this initial study was placed on inclusion of the savings potential -especially in space heating- in the further development of district-heating service. The study showed that Contracting could be an important factor both in expanding viable district-heating service as well as in taking advantage of existing potential for conserving energy. The Contracting agreements to be worked out within the scope of this project had to be formulated in such a way that any risks and/or advantages could be fairly shared by the parties involved (DVV, DWG , and tenants). This means that -after duly considering the effects- they would at least all have to be given equal status in comparison to a similar scenario without the aid of Contracting. The advantages of a Contracting approach would not necessarily have to be exclusively financial. They could also result in greater convenience for tenants, in an increase in the value of their buildings for property owners, or in improved ties to customers for utilities.
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06812 Dessau
Germany