By Juliet ETEFE ( [email protected])
The Energy Commission has announced that dealers of unlabelled and unregistered electrical appliances have until December 2025 to sell their existing stock, after which full enforcement of the new energy efficiency regulations will take effect.
The regulations, which were passed by Parliament in 2022, aim to improve energy efficiency in Ghana by ensuring that all imported electrical appliances meet Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS).
The regulations
Parliament passed 17 new regulations and revised 3 existing ones pertaining to electrical appliances. These measures aim to strengthen the Standards and Labelling (S&L) regime, expand its scope and enhance enforcement mechanisms.
The regulations cover a wide range of appliances, including refrigerators, air conditioners and microwaves, ensuring compliance with Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), introducing star ratings and requiring the registration of all models of regulated appliances.
The regulations introduce a revised star rating system for appliances, ranging from one to seven stars, replacing the previous one-to-five-star system. The more stars an appliance has, the more energy-efficient it is.
Importers are required to submit technical documentation to the commission for approval before bringing appliances into the country. This process allows the commission to generate the necessary labels, including QR codes, that verify the product’s compliance with Ghanaian standards.
In an interview, Hubert Nsoh Zan, Assistant Manager for Energy Efficiency Regulations at the Energy Commission, explained that a one-year transition period was granted to allow businesses to adapt to the regulations. And that enforcement officially began in November 2023, with a roadmap that has been established to guide the industry through the implementation process.
“We agreed that enforcement would start in November 2023, but a timeline has been provided to allow the sale of old stock. By December 2025, all non-labelled or unregistered products must be sold off. After that period, any product in showrooms must be registered with the Energy Commission and labelled according to the new regulations,” Mr. Zan stated.
He added that failure on the side of the dealers when the time elapses will result in seizure or exportation of the appliances.
He was speaking at the town hall meeting organised by the commission in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation for key personnel from public and private institutions as well as the media in Accra to raise awareness on the implementation of the regulations.
Dangers
Mr. Zan stressed the dangers of non-compliant products, particularly those imported from countries where the appliances have reached the end of their lifespan stating: “When these items arrive in Ghana, they consume more energy and increase electricity costs for consumers. Additionally, they contribute to environmental dumping, creating waste that becomes difficult to manage”.
The environmental and financial impact of such products extends to the government, which may face increased pressure to expand power generation capacity to meet the higher demand for electricity.
According to Mr. Zan, the adoption of energy-efficient appliances can serve as an alternative to building new power plants by managing electricity consumption more effectively.
He cited how initiatives like the introduction of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in the past resulted in a 124 MW reduction in peak power demand, expressing optimism that similar savings could be achieved through the enforcement of the new regulations.
However, he said challenges remain as smuggling and the sale of second-hand appliances that do not meet MEPS are still prevalent in the country.
As such, he emphasised the importance of collaboration between stakeholders, including customs officials, security agencies, the media and government institutions, to clamp down on these activities.
To ensure compliance, the commission is expanding its capacity to test regulated appliances. While facilities are in place for refrigerators and air conditioners, the scope has now been expanded to include 17 additional appliances. The commission is also using technology to enhance enforcement, with the introduction of the ‘GH-certified appliance’ app, which allows consumers to verify the authenticity of energy labels through QR codes.
