Eight schools, four kindergartens, three administrative buildings, a hospital, and a theater in the municipality of Chisinau have been connected to EMIS – an energy management information system for monitoring the consumption of electricity, heat, natural gas, hot, and cold water. This was possible thanks to the support of UNDP Moldova, offered in the framework of its project "Moldova Sustainable Green Cities", funded by the Global Environment Facility and in partnership with Green City Lab Moldova.

More than 80 smart meters have been installed in these 17 public buildings. The data on the used resources are automatically transmitted to the EMIS web platform, allowing for remote and real-time consumption monitoring. At the same time, the system generates alerts when energy or water consumption increases sharply. The notification is sent to the institution's manager and other responsible persons, to ensure prompt intervention.

The beneficiaries of the project were selected together with the Chisinau City Hall. One of these institutions is Municipal Children's Hospital nr. 1. The hospital has already insulated the walls, installed solar panels and will soon upgrade the lighting system, all these with the support of development partners and public funds.

The new energy management information system will help the institution to make savings and efficiently manage the consumption of resources, considering the continuous increase of prices, says Aliona Rotari, the director of the hospital: "The bills are now higher than usual, because of the increasing price of various energy products, and we need to make savings. However, these savings should not affect the comfort of patients who need optimal conditions to get well. We have installed six meters by which we may monitor in real-time the use of electricity, heat, hot water, and cold water. We aim to obtain efficient energy management by reducing consumption and optimizing expenditures."

The EMIS platform allows for storing monthly consumption data and comparing energy indicators during various periods of the day, month, or year. Depending on the recorded data, the management of the institutions may appreciate when the consumption of resources has been ineffective and take action to increase the energy efficiency of the building.

"For example, some institutions may reduce the heating level during the night if their activity profile allows it. In the same way, water and electricity consumption may become more efficient. Our goal is to reduce energy consumption and provide maximum support to institutions that are interested in energy management. The energy consumption monitoring mechanism will be extended nationally and may be used for both public and private sectors. Our goal is to reduce energy consumption and support public institutions," says Irina Apostol, EMIS Developer at Green City Lab Moldova.

EMIS was developed and launched by UNDP in Croatia in 2006, where it has been replicated in over 13,000 public buildings. Later, the EMIS model was adapted in other countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.

"If used properly, the system could help generate savings of 5 to 15%. Monitoring data on energy and water consumption may help the managers of public institutions take decisions and adopt a more efficient energy management, which will lead to savings of financial resources," notes Alexandru Rotaru, Project Manager at UNDP Moldova.

The 17 public buildings in the municipality of Chisinau that received access to the EMIS energy consumption monitoring information system benefited from training on using the new platform and energy management principles. At the same time, the beneficiary institutions are advised by specialists of Green City Lab Moldova on how to read and interpret the data, so as identify savings opportunities.

Public and private institutions that want to use the EMIS information system to monitor electricity, thermal energy, natural gas, hot water, and cold-water consumption should contact Green City Lab Moldova.