2014 pdf digital newsletter october 2014 by European Association of Electrical Contractors

© PDF _ DIGITAL NEWSLETTER – OCTOBER 2014 • EYE CATCHER: Embracing 60 years of AIE • EUROPEAN NEWS [Directive/Project / Events] • SECTOR RELATED NEWS • FUTURE EVENTS: SAVE THE DATE(s) 2014 / 2015 • PUBLICATIONS [Position Papers/Press Release]

01_Eye catcher: EMBRACING 60 YEARS OF AIE: Successful AIE Council of Delegates elects new President and Vice President in Slovenia Celebrating its 60th Anniversary in the beautiful little coastal town of Portorož in Slovenia, the European association of electrical contractors – the AIE - held its annual statutory meeting and conference last week, from 11 to 13 September last. The well attended event was successfully hosted for the very first time by its new Slovenian associated member (EZS/OZS).

Outgoing President Janne Skogberg [STUL, Finland], Andrej Počivavšek [OZS, Electro section Vice-President, Vladimir Janžekovič [OZS, Electro section President] , Evelyne Schellekens [General Secretary], Incoming President Allan Littler [ECA England] and Rudi Zorko, General Secretary [EZS, Slovenia]

At the AIE’s statutory meeting, the AIE elected its new President, Allan Littler (ECA-UK) and the incoming Vice President, Thomas Carlsson (EIO-Sweden). Allan Littler has a long curriculum both as electrical contractor and within the association life as he has been President of the Electrical Contracting Association of England (ECA) for 2008-09, ECA Council member from 2001 to 2010 and member of AIE’s Policy Coordination Committee since 2010. AIE President Allan Littler [ECA England]

AIE VicePresident Thomas Carlsson [EIO Sweden]

Warmly thanking Mr Janne Skogberg (STUL-Finland) for his most successful and exceptional 4-years period Presidency, Allan Littler declared to dedicate his Presidency to maximize the opportunities for electrical contractors businesses, encourage participation and support within the AIE, while being aware of ensuring Value for Money and focus on the challenges we face. The Conference welcomed most interesting presentations on the perspective of the electrical contracting sector in the United States given by both John Grau, CEO of NECA (National electrical contractors Association in the US) and Dennis Quebe, President of NECA followed by a presentation on why the EU elections were different in 2014, their impact on the EU policies and the most recent appointments of the EU Commissioners and their portfolioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. ... > Read more and download the full press release here > You can read and download the AIE annual activities report here [Evelyne Schellekens] or within the AIE ISSUU Library > Read Janne Skogbergs' last President's' report after four years of AIE Presidency and download all presentations and the documents within the Members' Only section The picture gallery on the AIE website pages merely gives a short business overview. For the full pictures in high resolution on the Council, the Conference you can browse the AIE dropbox link where you can look at your own pace and download at your own need, the high resolution pictures taken during the whole event.

> PRESS RELEASE CoD Slovenia/Portoroz 2014 |

AIE DROPBOX LINK | Members' Only section

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02_European news [Directives / Projects / Events] 02-01: EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE OF YOUNG EUROPEAN ELECTRICIANS AT EUROSKILLS' 2014 COMPETITION IN LILLE! >Download the AIE-CYE PRESS RELEASE | www.aie-cye.blogspot.com | Euroskills2014 Click on the picture or here

Click on the picture or here

for a larger view on the proud Swiss for a larger view on the proud French for a larger view on the proud German team. GOLD for Severin Holdegger team. SILVER for Julien Seiller (left) team. BRONZE for Felix Fendl (left) and supporting expert Adrian Sommer and supporting expert Pierrick Mandin and supporting expert Ralph (right). Euroskillsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expert Bernand Sassmannshausen Finet holding his two treasures!

Saturday evening, all candidates received a Certificate of Excellence from AIE's General Secretary Evelyne Schellekens. We congratulate the golden, silver and bronze boys!! She stressed in her speech towards the candidates and the experts that everybody should be proud of its participation as selected representatives for their country for the Electrical Installations competition in Lille! She stated: "Keep your passion for your sector and share it with others, since you are an example for others that will choose for a profession within the electrical installation branch. You all had a unique experience and you have an excell note to place on your forget that!" Evelyne Schellekens and the 13 CYE-WSE 2014 candidates holding the AIE certificate of Excellence

To all the experts and candidates we would like to say: 'You have shown us that 'Excellence' is not a single act, but a good habit!

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Two important decisions were made during these three days of competition: The AIE and Euroskills’ experts agreed to have the AIE – European Association of Electrical Contractors - as a platform for the experts to communicate and share views and experiences before, during and after the competition! Secondly, the AIE is thankful to the Euroskills organisation for providing the huge media coverage! In addition, the AIE as Worldskills Europe associate member stimulates the networking between members, experts and stakeholders of the installation sector. By daily blogging and posting on AIE’s digital communication channels, the electrical installation sector is put in the spotlight, whilst enhancing the visibility of the electrical branch. The AIE encourages everyone to promote and publish both the aie-cye blog and the facebook page on their own digital media, to show what highly skilled electricians of today can manage and to what future apprentices can reach for! As Worldskills Europe stated in their press release: EuroSkills 2014 wasn’t only about competing for the nearly 90.000 visitors it was about discovering and trying trades, getting information about training programs and meeting tomorrow’s highly qualified young European professionals. It was also the place where a lot of European leaders of industry, education and training came together at different organized seminars, conferences and meetings. Communication channels: >BLOG: aie-cye blog | FACEBOOK: facebook page | AIE-CYE webpage: http://www.aie-cye.eu/Intro_1 > Newsslider and infoflashes: www.aie.eu > View all pictures on Picasaweb: DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | CANDIDATES AND THEIR EXPERTS Kindly mention when using pictures: © Courtesy AIE2014

02-02: ENERGY POLICY > Some facts: - Today, the EU imports 53% of the energy it consumes. - Energy dependence relates to crude oil (almost 90%), to natural gas (66%), and to a lesser extent to solid fuels (42%) as well as nuclear fuel (40%). The value of imports is more than 1 billion Euros per day. - In 2013 energy supplies from Russia accounted for 42% of EU natural gas imports and 33% of oil imports. Both the European Energy Security Strategy and the 2030 Policy Framework on Climate and Energy have now been submitted to the European Council. Conclusions from the Heads of State or Government on the first have been made at the European Council Meeting of last 23 October (see next article 02-03). > Timeline:    

October 2014: Member states decide on the energy efficiency targets in the EU Council September 2014: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon hosts climate summit in New York October 2014: European Council expected to agree 2030 climate and energy targets December 2014: UNFCCC Climate Summit in Lima, Peru

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Dec. 2015: UNFCCC Climate Summit in Paris expected to agree outline of global legally-binding climate treaty 2017: Next review of the measures on energy efficiency planned by the Commission 2020: Deadline for EU to meet target of 20% greenhouse gas reduction as measured against 1990 levels, a 20% share for renewable energy in the bloc's energy mix, and a non-binding goal of a 20% energy efficiency improvement, measured against 2005 levels

02-03: ADOPTION OF THE CLIMATE AND ENERGY PACKAGE FOR 2030 BY EU HEADS OF MEMBER STATES: ENERGY COMPROMISE Last Thursday night (23 October) the EU heads of Member states adopted the Climate and Energy Package for 2030 and concluded to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%, and to increase energy efficiency and renewables by at least 27%. The efficiency and renewables targets were however watered down compared to the European Commission and European Parliament’s ambitions. The EC had called for an energy efficiency goal of 30%. That was reduced to 27% across the EU. The EU level target is indicative which means is not legally binding at the national level or EU level. The renewables target of at least 27% is binding at EU-wide level but, after opposition from countries such as the United Kingdom, it will not be binding at national level. The AIE had called for a binding Energy Efficiency Target as this is the proven cost-effective potential for the EU. AIE believes the EU's role is to create the overall framework of the EU energy market but the effective and concrete measures/ actions should be decided and carried out at national level with a sector-specific approach. The Council conclusions indicate that the Commission will propose ‘priority sectors in which significant energy efficiency gains can be reaped and ways to address them’. Buildings represent 40% of all energy consumed in the EU and should therefore feature as the top priority sector to be addressed in upcoming legislation revision, namely with Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Buildings play a major role in the EU’s energy dependence and high import costs. In this context the AIE advocates that following policy measures are needed to foster energy efficiency in buildings: - The use of the primary energy factor should be reviewed as it distorts the end-user choices regarding his energy consumption - Enhance the role of ICT in buildings: real energy efficiency should be monitored and measured by looking at the energy bill before and after improvements; it reflects real consumption and makes it possible to estimate the savings made. - The important role of automation should be recognized in the energy efficiency in buildings. Standard EN 15232 supports communication in defining the level of automation in buildings. - Locally (in the same building or same neighborhood) produced renewable electrical energy should not be forgotten as a part of the whole solution in the battle against the greenhouse gases.

In order to untap the energy efficiency potential in buildings, the EU should pave the way for new financing models to develop wide-scale renovation programmes to reach the 3% target. A major renovation program, amounting only to a quarter of what Member States currently spent on energy imports (EU Members States collectively spend €1.1bn every day on energy imports), could put Member States on the right track to reduce the energy demand of the building stock in the EU by 80% by 2050. Interconnectivity Agreement was also reached on increasing the interconnectivity of Europe’s energy markets. Interconnectivity is an important part of the EU’s plans for Energy Union, which is partly intended to wean some member states off their dependence on Russian gas. Energy security Regarding energy security in the context of the Ukraine crisis, EU leaders endorsed further actions to reduce the EU's energy dependence and increase its energy security for both electricity and gas. Without going into detail, EU leaders agreed to implement critical projects of common interest in the gas sector, such as the North-South corridor, the Southern Gas Corridor, and the promotion of a new gas hub in Southern Europe. Also mentioned were key infrastructure projects enhancing Finland's and the Baltic States' energy security. These countries were singled out as the most vulnerable in the case of a complete disruption of Russian gas supplies. Monitoring process The European Commission will monitor progress on the issue and will report on financing possibilities. The Council invited the executive to make legislative proposals on funding, if appropriate. The conclusions of the EU Summit should send a clear message to big polluters such as China and the United States ahead of UN talks in Paris in December 2015 to agree global legally binding greenhouse gas emissions.

02-04: IEA REPORT: GLOBAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY MARKET ‘AN INVISIBLE POWERHOUSE’ WORTH AT LEAST USD 310 BILLION PER YEAR Energy efficiency gains are surpassing fuel consumption in some countries, according to a report released on 8 October by the International Energy Agency (IEA).In 2011, energy efficiency savings in 11 countries, including France, Sweden and the United Kingdom, “effectively displaced a continent’s energy demand” the IEA said. Savings from improvements in energy efficiency reached the equivalent of 1.3 billion tons of oil (Mtoe), exceeding the total final consumption for all energy sources combined in the EU. Estimated savings for the 11 countries amounted to 56 exajoules, worth $743 billion (about €586 billion) given an average price of energy at $13.96 per gigajoule. Efficiency improved the most in the residential sector, where energy demand declined by 5% from 2001 levels among the 18 countries analysed. The EU, alongside Japan, achieved the lowest level of energy intensity (units of energy needed to produce one unit of GDP) of all developed economies, thanks in part to

a favourable policy mix, notably the ecodesign and energy labelling directives. Energy security is an increasingly hot topic within the EU due to the Ukraine crisis. That led to fears that Russia would turn off the taps to its gas supplies. Energy prices increased between 11% and 52% in individual countries between 2001 and 2011, according to the IEA. The report found that energy efficiency related industries are growing. Ireland’s exports of products such as insulation surged 66% from 2010 to 2012. Another example is the Netherlands, where the industry has grown by 9% each year since 1995 and its goods and services were valued at €4.1 billion in 2012. A Bloomberg Energy Finance survey on energy efficiency in the UK showed today that confidence levels of energy efficiency suppliers are at an all time high and that consumer trends such as a shift in expectations toward longer payback periods and the increasing use of alternative finance models are also favourable. The IEA said that “increased focus on the issues of energy security, economic growth, sustainable development and climate change mitigation, which can each be enhanced through improved energy efficiency, is likely to support a continued growing emphasis on this ‘first’ fuel." On 23 October, EU member states decided on a binding or indicative target for energy efficiency as part of its 2030 climate package | IEA press release

02-05: BERLIN APPROVES NEW INCENTIVES FOR ELECTRIC CAR DRIVERS The German government passed a new law on electro-mobility on Wednesday 24 September, including perks for electric car drivers, such as parking privileges, permission to use bus lanes and special transit access. However, environmentalists are unhappy. The new measure is expected to come into effect in early 2015 and is set to expire on 30 June 2030. Its scope covers battery powered vehicles, as well as especially environmentally friendly, externally chargeable hybrid cars, and fuel cell vehicles. For plug-in hybrids, carbon dioxide emissions are capped at 50g per kilometer or a minimum 30km range on purely electric power (40km starting in 2018). Free parking and access to bus lanes Under the new law, vehicles approved in Germany are intended to receive special identification via their number plates. Cars approved outside the country are also expected to be given certain benefits. Because they cannot receive a German number plate, the legislation says they will be identified by a special sticker. This is meant to ensure that electric vehicles can be easily recognised in traffic by police and others on the road. The law will also give municipalities the possibility to reserve parking spaces at charging stations for electric vehicles as well as provide free parking. "With our electro-mobility law, we are creating additional incentives for electro-mobility," explained German Transportation Minister Alexander Dobrindt. "In the future, municipalities will be able to choose how to locally promote the use of electric cars, such as offering free parking or special transit rights. In addition, electric vehicles will be identifiable to anyone at a glance thanks to individual labelling. Because of the growing selection of e-models on the market, and the growing number of e-cars on the roads, sales will continue to rise."

Auto industry pleased The Automobile Industry Association (VDA) welcomed the new measure and said it expects a boost for electro-mobility. Germany is well-positioned with regard to electro-mobility. In no other country car dealers do have such a large selection of electric models. International assessments show: Compared to other countries offering electric cars, Germany's auto industry is at the top of the list," VDA's president Matthias Wissmann commented. By the end of the year, 17 production models made in Germany will be released on the market. 12 more will follow in 2015. The German Transport Forum (DVF) also welcomed the fresh legislation: "Now it is important to get evehicles into the fleets of companies and public officials. This has the beneficial side-effect that a market is created, in which used electric cars become available much more cheaply to private users after 2 years. But to do this, there must be a procurement initiative at the national, regional and municipal levels as well as a move to introduce special tax write-offs for commercially operated vehicles. And credit programmes with reduced interest-rate loans for purchasing e-vehicles must be implemented quickly."

02-06: TEST YOUR ICT KNOWLEDGE THROUGH THE CONNECT & CONSTRUCT PLATFORM In addition to the C&C platform, Connect & Construct has set up an online information portal where construction companies can increase their awareness of the benefits of digital information exchange, learn how to adapt their business processes to digital collaboration and how to use ICT, and related standards and protocols to their advantage. Although there was plenty of information available, it was difficult to find the right information and to understand how to apply it in a day-by-day working environment. The C&C information portal provides direction through the maze of ICT systems, standards, communication protocols, initiatives, and everything else construction companies need to know to use ICT effectively. This is a single online point of entry for finding this in a clear, accessible and structured way. In addition, construction companies can test their level of awareness and implementation of ICT, i.e. their ‘digital maturity’, through a self-assessment. Based on the assessment results, the company receives targeted advice on what steps it should take to use ICT more effectively. Check out the information portal yourself at http://www.connectandconstruct.eu/welcome.html.

02-07: EU PVSEC 2014 CONFIRMS FUTURE OF PV AS MAJOR ELECTRICITY SOURCE The 29th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC 2014) closed its doors on Friday, 26 September 2014. The global PV community gathered in Amsterdam, to conduct business, to network and to present and discuss the latest developments and innovations in Photovoltaics. 48 % of the participants at the EU PVSEC 2014 had been represented by R & D specialists and 38 % from the segment industry and engineering. About 6 % of the participants came from the segment system integration and energy supply. 3,000 PV professionals from 76 countries attended the Conference Programme, covering the entire scope of PV technologies and applications. During the EU PVSEC exhibitors from along the PV value chain presented the latest products and services. The EU PVSEC 2014 highlighted the impact which the growth of PV will have on our overall energy system. > Read more | View Key Facts and Figures of the EU PVSEC 2014

03_ Sector related news AIE INTERNAL 03-01: NEW DIRECTOR VSEI - SWITZERLAND After nearly 15 years of loyal services to the Swiss association VSEI-USEI, Hans-Peter In-Albon, leaves the leadership of the association. “I am sad but satisfied, and I am convinced the association will be in good hands”, testifies Hans-Peter. The AIE warmly thanks Hans-Peter for his sharp mind during many discussions and interventions within the General Secretaries’ meetings and his willingness to support several AIE Task Forces with technical Swiss experts, year after year. ‘Auf Wiedersehen’ Hans-Peter! Simon Hämmerli has taken over on 1 October, the leadership of the Association. He is looking forward to the new challenge and will always pursue the goal with his high level of commitment "Added value for the members." > More info: www.vsei.ch

ON-GOING AIE ACTIVITIES 03-02: SUCCESSFUL SESSION ON COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL MEDIA TO BE REPEATED IN 2015 Further to a most successful meeting amongst General Secretary on information and communication strategy between AIE and its members, but also on the use of social media in associations (European or national), a similar meeting was held in Kortenberg for the national communication managers during August. The aim of the meeting was triple: - to enhance the awareness/knowledge of the AIE - to learn to know better the communication and promotion channels/possibilities with and for the national member associations - to look ahead towards use of social media use in association life while illustrating the discussions with good practices and experiences by national associations.

The well-stocked agenda recounted the introduction of existing AIE communication channels and new facts on social media with reference to the updated facts and figures by Kellen Europe’s report on Social media for 2014. Additionally, the main part of the meeting went to exchanging best practices from Finland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden : Paula Ihamäki, Communication Director and Mikko Arvinen, web editor/designer of STUL Finland talked e.g. about a new marketing concept/project ‘blogger-co-operation within Sähkötreffit-service’ and their experience with You Tube and the Facebook – STUL/Finland pages called ’Sähköala.fi’, meaning ’electrical branch and sector’. Support for contractors in consumer business > Sähkö= Electric and Treffit = Date. Mirko Krebs representative of the German management board of ZVEH, Germany explained The Social Media Activities of the german electrical contractor association within the known E-Zubis channels on Facebook, Blog and You Tube. Watch the latest video on E-Zubis: http://youtu.be/BcStJ2UE4SI Bent Bøkman, Head of Communications, TEKNIQ Denmark mentioned EUX I DK (website seen in Google translation) on vocational education amongst other issues as ’10 truth on Social Media’. Monica Berling, Communication Manager, EIO, Sweden talked about the latest marketing issues and EIO’s vision within the discussion to use social media or not.

Paula Ihamäki [left] listening to a discussion between Bent Bøkman, Head of Communications TEKNIQ, Denmark] and Monica Berling, Pictures taken by Mikko Arvinen, Finland.

Mirko Krebs [right], representative of the German management board of ZVEH and Carla Cox [AIE communication] listening to Monica Berling, communication manager of EIO, Sweden.

The meeting was closed with ‘Ten recommendations by Kellen Europe’s report and five questions for Social media success’. The aim for following meetings remains to stimulate the interactive communication possibilities between AIE and its member associations and to search information or promote national activities or campaigns. Kindly contact Carla Cox at info@aie.eu to join the Doodle invitation for the next meeting in February 2015 and/or communication group for future meetings if you aren’t already involved within the communication group.

04_ Future events http://www.aie.eu/aie/page/Events Please don’t forget to take a look on the AIE website soon for future AIE meetings in 2014/2015

04-01 SAVE THE DATE(S) 2014/2015: 21.10.2014

Launch of the IEA report on Energy efficiency markets and multiple benefits

28/31.10.2014

Matelec in Spain

06.11.2014

AIE technical task force meeting in Oslo

13.11.2014

Stakeholders meeting on power cables

20.11.2014

Conference Connect and Construct

26.11.2014

AIE General Secretaries meeting in Brussels

27.11.2014

AIE Policy Coordination Committee meeting

... 02.2015

Social media group meet in Brussels/Kortenberg (tbc)

30.04.2015

Experts CYE-WSE meet in Brussels/Kortenberg (tbc)

> More event news? Double check: Other European events

05_ Publications – check new AIE and related publications at our library on ISSUU AIE members and other related organisations from the electrical value chain are invited to inform us on interesting articles, brochures, scientific reports that can be added to our AIE online ISSUU Library!

05-01: PV GRID WEBSITE AND DATABASE The overall goal of the PV GRID Project is to help reduce the legal, administrative and regulatory barriers that are delaying or complicating the large scale integration of photovoltaic (PV) systems on electricity distribution infrastructures across Europe. PV GRID is a project funded by the European Commission’s Intelligent Energy for Europe programme. www.pvgrid.eu The European country map summarises the results of the quantitative assessment of national frameworks for developing PV installations. This tool gathers detailed data on project development processes in 16 EU countries, rating how “smart” these are in each country for three PV system market segments:   

Residential Commercial Industrial ground-mounted

In each segment, a general evaluation of the national market status and a quantitative assessment of each process step is provided, along with estimates of time leads and costs: http://www.pvgrid.eu/database.html

05-02: EPIA: OVERVIEW OF SUPPORT SCHEMES EXTENDED AND REVAMPED EPIA has extended, updated and revamped its quarterly overview of support schemes in Europe. The overview provides a synthetic, though complete overview of existing support schemes for PV in 31 countries in Europe (EU 28, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine). Click on the picture or download the short pdf version here

05-03: NEW VISUAL IDENTITY OF GCI-UICP - GCP EUROPE GCI-UICP strives to become the EU's principal interlocutor for smarter, more sustainable, and innovative EU policies for the Building Services Engineering Sector for plumbing and HVAC under the new name GCP Europe, as adopted by the General Assembly in Dublin - 26th of September 2014. GCP Europe will be the spokesman of its members in Brussels with main values as trust, transparant legislation, qualification of personnel, sustainability and mobilisation and thus strenghten its new logo with the strapline: "The voice of €fficient building engineering service." Secretary-General Thijs de Wolff explained to AIE that this new public face will better reflect the activities of the big majority of GCP's national member associations. "... It is imperative to adequately face the environmental and demographic challenges of the future by applying ambitious energy and climate solutions in our sector" ... After modifications within the Official Journal in Brussels, the logo and new website will be launched in due time. The AIE congratulates GCP Europe with the fresh new look! Both secretariats will meet by the end of October/beginning of November to talk about - amongst other common issues - the joint Council of Delegates in Edinburgh and to introduce GCP's new assistant: Alina Burlacu. Welcome Alina! Download the complete Press Release here to discover GCP's mission, vision and future values.

European Association of Electrical Contractors “ELECTRICITY SURROUNDS US – TOUCHES EVERY ONE OF US, EVERY DAY, EVERYWHERE. Who we are: The AIE – the European Association of electrical contracting companies - represents through its 20 national member associations about 175,000 specialist contracting companies employing about 1,000,000 workers in the EU-countries and beyond. The AIE represents companies from all sizes, the big majors and a majority of small and medium size enterprises [SME]. AIE member companies have an in-depth knowledge and high-quality expert skills to carry out all kind of electrical engineering and infrastructure works [high, medium and low voltage]. The overall turnover of the sector is approximately 75 billion Euros. Monitoring the EU agenda/Directives relevant for the electrical sector, the AIE points out the key strategies and main priorities for the modern electrical contractor. With the increasing complexity of technical installations, the private consumer and house owners are becoming more and more dependent on the knowledge and creativity of the electrical contractor. He is an expert adviser who is able to explain to the client the possibilities and advantages of new technology in a technical and environmental way. Kindly visit our website: www.aie.eu or contact us at info@aie.eu.