The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has launched a program of Technical Assistance (TA) to support the Albanian Government in continuing the energy reform. Expertise France (EF), the French public agency for international technical assistance, was entrusted by the AFD with the implementation of the project. As part of several commitments undertaken by Albania in pursuit of its accession to the European Union, the country is engaged in an in- depth reform of its energy sector, including operational, financial and structural aspects. The Technical Assistance (TA) aims in supporting the development of a modern legal framework with a special focus placed on supporting and strengthening the Energy Efficiency Agency (EEA) in Albania. Close analysis of the EEA has concluded that one of the first and primary needs of the EEA is to build the capacity for the staff to ensure the EEA satisfactory perform their duties and responsibilities.

To support the EEA to carry out their responsibilities as one of the priorities of the TA will be to continue increasing capacities and knowledge in Energy Audits. EEA will benefit greatly from carrying out on site energy audits in Albania, with the participation of selected members of Albanian energy auditors. Because of EEA’s role in improving the energy audits in Albania it was determined that the staff of EEA will greatly benefit from experiencing an audit process as conducted by best European practices, which will provide them invaluable information so that they can impart to auditors in Albania, and that will help them to create a benchmark of quality for energy audits. The Energy Audits preferably will be conducted in residential buildings, hospitals, industry, or any combination that EEA will find most beneficial. The Energy Audits are planned to be as comprehensive as possible with the preparation of a fully-fledged audit report that can then be shared with the owner of the site that is to be audited.

In addition, the TA will also support EEA in various other capacity building activities in a range of issues that AEE will need support with, including but not limited to creation of plans for implementation of the energy efficiency measures in public buildings, creating programs for promotion of energy efficiency, ensuring adequate financing, drafting/revising policies for energy efficiency etc. The TA is expected to end on mid-April 2025.