In buying appliances for your house, have you ever considered the amount of energy that they consume? Or are you curious of how its energy use fares with other products? These are the questions that consumers don’t usually ask since they have no available information of these products. With the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, consumers would now be able to make more informed decisions.

Republic Act 11285 or also known as the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act has been signed by the president in July 23, 2018. The goal of this law is to institutionalize energy efficiency and conservation, enhance the use of efficient products, and incentivize programs related to energy efficiency and conservation. Since the energy supply in the country has been a problem, it will help reduce energy consumption by taking into account energy efficiency and conservation measures.

The DOE shall pursue a Demand Side Management program which will help the electric power industry through effective load management. They shall also spearhead the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan (NEECP) which is a national comprehensive framework for energy efficiency and conservation programs. On the community level, local government units shall enforce the Local Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan (LEECP) wherein it is a multi-stakeholder framework for energy efficiency and conservation programs. The local government units are also mandated to establish an energy conservation office to oversee and monitor their LEECP.

Under this law, there will be energy performance standards and labeling requirements for energy consuming devices. This means that the industrial, commercial, and transportation sectors would have to follow the minimum energy performance set by the DOE. For the benefit of the consumers, energy labels will be put on to energy consuming devices to help them have an informed decision in choosing their appliances. Since the air conditioning unit, refrigerator, and television are heavily used by people at home, these appliances will have mandatory energy labels which will reflect the following:

• Energy Efficiency Rating
• Monthly consumption based on certain hours of use
• Year of energy label issuance
• Product model and brand name

With the enactment of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, the consumers have the power to help the country by reducing their energy consumption. Hopefully, they would now be smart decision makers in choosing the right products for their homes.