DMRE Directive to NRCS to Strengthen MEPS
Mr. Edward Mamadise
Chief Executive Officer
National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications
1 Dr Lategan Road
Pretoria
0181
RE: UPWARD REVISION OF MINIMUM ENERGY PERFORMANCE STANDARDS (MEPS) FOR HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES UNDER THE DMRE’S STANDARD’S AND LABELLING (S&L) PROGRAMME
Dear Mr. Mamadise,
Globally, S&L Programmes optimise the energy savings of the MEPS allocated to each appliance by reviewing them every five years. This is to account for technology advances and to send the next signal to industry to continue investing in research to improve energy efficiency performance. More importantly, a failure to align with international S&L programmes which have revised their MEPS creates the opportunity for product suppliers to divert old technology to markets whose regulations are less onerous.
The MEPS for the appliances currently regulated under VC9006 and VC9008 were determined as an outcome of a techno-economic study and stakeholder participation undertaken in 2011 and 2012. In line with the above-mentioned practice, a second techno-economic supported by multiple stakeholder consultation meetings was completed between 2018 to 2019. In the interests of certainty, and to reduce regulatory effort, the DMRE proposed that for appliances whose MEPS revision is taking a two-step approach that this is reflected during this revision of the regulations – see refrigerators and freezers in the table below.
The DMRE kindly request, based on the outcomes of the industry consultation workshop held on the 14th of November 2019, the NRCS to revise the regulations as follows:
Appliance | Existing MEPS | New MEPS | Proposed Effective Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standby Power AV | 1W | 0.5W | Earliest possible start |
| Electric Ovens | Small = A Medium = A Large = B | Small = A Medium = A Large = A | N/A N/A 2021 |
| Dishwashers | A | No change | N/A |
| Washer Dryers | A | No change | N/A |
| Washing Machines | A | A+ | 2022 |
| Tumble Dryers | D | C | 2021 |
| Refrigerators | B A | A A+ | 2021 2026 |
| Freezers | C A | B A+ | 2020 2024 |
| Air Conditioners | B | A | 2021 |
To ensure the minimum amount of disruption the DMRE requests that the South African Bureau of Standards (Standards Division) are duly consulted to ensure that the national standards for the above appliances reflect the latest international standards.
We look forward to your support in this matter to ensure the agreed upon timelines with industry are achieved so that the country and residential households can benefit from reduced energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
Kind regards,
Xolile Mabusela
Director: Energy Efficiency Initiatives
Date: 17/02/2020
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