I.Metshin: "We want to share the experience that any budget can manage"

(Kazan, KZN.RU, December 18, by Adelya Galieva). The participants of the meeting of the Volga Federal District Regional Advisory Board for the Development of Local Government familiarized themselves with the Tatarstan capital's experience in energy conservation and energy efficiency improvement in residential buildings and public facilities, as well as with the management of the housing and utility sector.

The projects were presented to the Volga region mayors and members of administration at the seminar "Kazan's Experience in Utility Management," held in Gymnasium No.7 of Kazan's Novosavinovsky District, which is an active participant in the energy saving experiment.

Gymnasium students told the seminar attendees about their school's participation in the energy efficiency project launched in 2009. Thermal management devices and plastic windows were installed in the school, the facade was painted with energy-saving paint, and the incandescent lamps were replaced with energy-saving ones. As a result, last year alone, heating costs were reduced by 38%, and the savings were redirected to other needs of the school: technical equipment and the creation of a museum of electricity.

Evgeny Chekashov, director of the municipal unitary enterprise "Kazan energy service center," told the seminar participants that it took Kazan several years to become a recognized leader in the field of energy efficiency. One of the main achievements in this respect was the replacement of central heating with automated individual heating units.

"All budgetary city institutions have been audited and modern energy-saving equipment, such as metering devices and automated weather controlled thermostats, has been installed," said E. Chekashov. The economic impact of these measures amounted to 146 thousand Gcal or 165 million rubles of the city utility budget.

"Walk and ye shall reach! In 2006, when we created the municipal unitary enterprise "Kazan energy service center," the concept of energy efficiency was non-existent. Today, we have real savings for the population and the city budget. And the savings are huge! Moreover, as shown by the example of this school, we teach children to save and take care of the resources. It takes a lot of work, which is possible only within the framework of the entire city, but we started with pilot projects: individual schools and kindergartens," said Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin.

Ilsur Metshin noted that today's Kazan is a city that has been chosen to lead the Association of the Volga Region Cities. "We are honored by this choice and want to share the experience that any budget can manage," summed up the city head.