TRAINING IN ENERGY MANAGEMENT

Evaluation covers the period 8/77-1/80 and is based on site visits, a review of course curriculum, a review by the project advisory committee, and interviews with project staff. An energy management course was developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in collaboration with the Institute for Energy Research (IER) at the State University of New York, Stony Brook (SUNY). Using a modularized curriculum, two 8-week courses were conducted for 52 middle-level energy management personnel from 30 LDC"s. Field tours of energy facilities and organizations were also included in the course, although it is suggested that these remain a marginal component of the basic program. Case studies derived from LDC experiences are treated in the course. The SUNY/BNL teaching staff is well qualified and includes experts in energy policy research, modelling, economics, and energy assessments. An EMTP Advisory Committee comprised of outside energy experts was established, and based on their recommendations, along with feedback from participants, modifications in the curriculum are made. Because of the close working relationship between SUNY and BNL, management of EMTP has been more than adequate, especially since a Deputy Director was added to the IER staff. Problems encountered in the project include inadequate documentation of feedback from project participants and poor budgetary accounting practices. Recommendations based on this evaluation include: (1) conducting four additional EMTP courses which focus on geographic regions or on training national planning teams; (2) including A.I.D. officers in EMTP or other energy management training courses; (3) utilizing better accounting procedures; (4) documenting the third EMTP course to make project experience more widely available to the development community; (5) planning energy training programs at all levels; (6) directing activities needed to implement EMTP towards meeting A.I.D. goals, especially activities which support in-country energy planning efforts in LDC"s.