Energy performance contracts: socio-legal nature and features of legal regulation

Introduction: the article is devoted to researching a new contractual structure - energy performance agreement (contract) as an agreement aimed at the rational use of energy resources, the identification of the issues related to the practical implementation of civil law regulations governing the relations on energy saving as a kind of social entrepreneurship. For this purpose, the authors investigate the legal nature of the agreement (contract), the features of forming its conditions and conclusion which, in general, contributes to the extension of its scope in practice. By applying the modern scientific methods, above all, the dialectical method, the method of system analysis, formal-logical, historical and logical methods, it became possible to objectively form an opinion of the state of the legislation in the field of the legal regulation of rational use of energy resources by means of such a legal form as the energy performance contract. Results: it is noted that today one of the most important strategic problems of the modern social and energy policy of Russia is the creation of legal, economic and organizational framework for stimulating power savings and increasing energy efficiency. Of particular importance in these conditions is the formation of the legal system in regulating these social relations. It is indicated that an important part in the formation of energy saving should be assigned to the new contractual structure - the energy performace agreement (contract). It is established that in civil law the legal nature and characteristics of energy performance contracts remain unexplored. Conclusions: it is proved that the energy performance contract in its legal nature is an independent civil-law defined contract.