ECONOMICAL ENERGY

Low prices for hydrocarbon resources are the biggest obstacle to the introduction of energy-saving technologies. Scientific and technical progress slows down and the interest of the business community in the production of electricity from alternative and renewable sources of energy markedly diminishes.

It is not easy to implement reforms with low oil prices at 40 dollars per barrel on world markets. In order to achieve significant progress in the issue of energetic efficiency, large financial investments are required. But low prices for natural gas significantly reduce the price of electricity generated by modern combined cycle plants and make it less attractive for businesses to obtain "clean energy" by building solar panels or wind turbines.

On the other hand, energy efficiency is of special importance, and this factor is relevant both at the national level and for individual households. We are talking about the application of energy-saving technologies, cuts in energy consumption, reduction of losses in electricity transmission and its economical use by consumers. In this regard, Azerbaijan faces large-scale reforms.

But before we talk about reforms, it is necessary to consider the initial characteristics of the energy system of Azerbaijan and its place in world classification.

One of the world-renowned organizations in the field of energy assessment is the World Energy Council (WEC) established in 1923. This organization, which is accredited by the United Nations and deals with energy issues, includes more than 3,000 public and private organizations from 100 countries.

In the WEC's November report "Energy Trilemma Index: Bench-marking the Sustainability of National Energy Systems", Azerbaijan impro-ved its indicator, ranking 55th among 130 countries. In 2013, Azerbaijan took 81st place and in 2014 - 71st place.

This report is based on three indicators - energy security, energy equality and environmental sustainability.

In terms of energy security, which provides for the efficient organization of primary energy supplies from domestic and foreign sources, the reliability of the energy infrastructure and the ability to meet the current and future demand, Azerbaijan is one step away from the top ten states and took 11th place in 2015 - up from 32nd place in 2013.

In energy equality covering the population's access to energy, the country ranks 67th (74th in 2013).

In environmental sustainability, which provides for the development of renewable energy sources, Azerbaijan takes 74th place (98th in 2013).

In general, the energy sustainability index of Azerbaijan has increased in recent years from the BCD level in 2013 to ABC in 2015.

The capacity of the country's electric power system increased to 7,250 MW in 2013 compared to 5,181 MW in 2001, and in 2020 it is planned to increase it to 8,000 MW.

At the same time, the country has a huge potential in using alternative forms of energy, which is estimated at 12,100 MW. Of these, more than 5,000 MW accounted for solar power, 4,500 MW - wind power, 1,500 MW - bio-energy, 800 MW - geothermal energy and 350 MW - small hydroelectric power plants.

But alternative energy requires significant investment, the allocation of which is very difficult for Azerbaijan in the period of low oil prices.

Therefore, the main issue now is to save energy. To improve the performance of the energy sector it is planned to adopt a five-year state programme of energy saving and energy efficiency. The programme is already in the final stage of coordination in ministries and departments.

The commissioning of the new combined-cycle plants in the past 10 years has significantly reduced expenses on the generation of 1 kW/h of electricity - from 413 to 314 grams of conventional fuel. By 2020 it is planned to reduce this figure to 260 grams, as well as decrease losses from 16 to 6 per cent in the distribution networks.

Given the introduction of modern combined-cycle plants, it will be very difficult to reduce specific consumption.

Very active technical and legal assistance in the preparation of areas for reforms in the energy sector is provided by the European Union through the INOGATE programme, as part of which the national work plan has been prepared. It defines the main directions of the energy policy of the government providing for the reconstruction and development of infrastructure in the regions, improvements in access to public services, including the supply of gas and electricity, the creation of modern infrastructure facilities and bringing the existing ones into compliance with international standards, the promotion of investments in energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy.

And if a great job has been done in the field of electricity and gas in recent years, heating considerably lags beh-ind in development.

The Azerbaijani leadership can get support in solving this problem with the help of the INOGATE programme. One of INOGATE projects provides assistance to companies dealing with centralized heating through technical assistance in the period up to 2020 for the implementation of a more efficient heating system and increasing the level of comfort for citizens. The purpose of the first mission is to help Azerbaijani heating companies through the development of "Roadmap 2020" for a more efficient heating system in the country.

It should be noted that the primary efficacy parameters are centralized heating and the installation of individual heating meters, which will allow apartment owners to economize thermal resources.

Unfortunately, work to supply heat to apartments is still being performed without fundamental changes in the structure of infrastructure upgrading. That is to say the majority of apartment owners in Baku cannot influence the use of heating on their own due to the absence of meters, and the payment depends on the area of the apartment.

Meanwhile, given the relatively prolonged periods of warm weather in Baku, the regulation of heat supply by apartment owners could have a positive impact on the financial cost and the overall energy efficiency of the system.

In many countries, it is possible to control the amount of heat supplies with the help of meters depending on the weather. In Azerbaijan, many citizens are often faced with a situation when the radiators are hot in warm winter days and only slightly warm in cold weather. In addition, this year, because of the debts of Azaristilik-tachizat for gas, heat supplies to apartments began only in the first days of December, while the billing starts from 15 November. It is unlikely that this difference will be taken into account in heating bills.

As long as consumers in Azerbaijan are unable to control ex-penses on the services of public companies in the utility sector, it is not worth talking about economy and efficient use of natural resources. Ac-cordingly, with such a wasteful attitude to the use of energy, it is difficult to expect an increase in the wealth of citizens and the state.