The paper deals with one of the urgent problems of the pos­tindustrial society – rational consumption of energy resources. The authors point out the objective and subjective energy-saving factors, as well as the reasons behind the neutral and indifferent attitude to the energy saving. The given concept is specified as the complex of actions designed for decreasing the futile energy losses.      

The energy saving policy requires the adequate competence that should be developed from the pre-school age and maintained through the system of life-long learning. The crucial role in developing the competence in question belongs to the teachers fully endowed with the necessary psychological and pedagogical knowledge.  

The paper defines the concept of energy saving competence, and analyzes its axiological, motivational, cognitive, and reflexive components, along with the energy related ecological qualities in order to single out the adequate criteria of rational energy utilization.

In conclusion, the authors come out with the structural content model designed for fostering the energy-saving competence, including the objective, operational, organizational, and reflexive blocks.  Additionally, the paper contains the approximate list of general cultural and professional competences, as well as the ways of their acquisition by vocational school students and teachers.

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