Photo 1. Participants of EE&C-SSN Working Group Workshop: Day 1 on Appliances

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), supported by the USAID Southeast Asia Smart Power Program (SPP), successfully organised the 1st ASEAN Energy Efficiency & Conservation Working Group Workshop on Appliances and Industry on 22 – 23 August 2024. Members of the Energy Efficiency & Conservation Sub-Sector Network (EE&C-SSN) Working Group on Appliances and Industry, representing their respective ASEAN Member States (AMS), attended the workshop.  

On the first day, the workshop focused on addressing key issues related to the milestones of the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) in the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Programme Area, specifically on the Action Plans within the Outcome-Based Strategy (OBS) 1 on Appliances. Of the 46 persons who participated on the first day of the workshop, 24 attended in person in South Tangerang, Indonesia. Around 65.22% of Day 1 participants identified as male, while the rest identified as female. 

In her opening remarks, Dr Apiradee Thammanoma, Director of Strategy and Planning Division at the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Ministry of Energy, Thailand, as EE&C–SSN Coordinator, emphasised the urgency of accelerating the implementation of the APAEC milestones within the EE&C Programme Area as the final year of APAEC Phase II: 2021-2025 approaches. 

Photo 2. Opening Remarks by Dr Apiradee Thammanomai, EE&C-SSN Coordinator, and Dr Nuki Agya Utama, Former Executive Director of ACE.

Dr Supachai Sampao, Chief of Energy Efficiency Standard and Conservation Group at the DEDE, Ministry of Energy, Thailand, delivered the opening remarks as Chair of the Working Group on Appliances. In his address, he warmly welcomed the working group members from AMS and emphasised the urgent need to accelerate progress on both OBS 1 and OBS 5. Additionally, Dr Sampao highlighted the crucial contributions of the Working Group to the completion of the milestones outlined in the APAEC Phase II under the EE&C Programme Area. 

Dr Nuki Agya Utama, Former Executive Director of ACE, followed with opening remarks, expressing the ambition for the workshop to serve as a platform for advancing a sustainable energy future across ASEAN. He encouraged participants to keep discussions open and strengthen collaboration in pursuit of an inclusive, affordable, sustainable, and secure energy future for ASEAN.

Photo 3. Opening Remarks from Dr Nuki Agya Utama (left) and Dr Supachai Sampao (right) 

Reza Edriawan, Officer of APAEC Department at ACE, highlighted the regional insights and initiatives aimed at harmonising standards and labelling for appliances and equipment. He referenced the 7^th ASEAN Energy Outlook (AEO7), by ACE, which projects energy consumption in the residential sector to reach 83.5 Mtoe in 2050 without intervention. However, with EE&C initiatives for appliances, this figure is expected to drop to 59.5 Mtoe.

Photo 4. Scene Setting by Reza Edriawan, Officer of APAEC at ACE

The workshop continued with country report presentations by AMS representatives, highlighting the latest updates on EE&C policies to accelerate the adoption of energy-efficient appliances. They also addressed key challenges for energy measures in appliances and provided updates on adopting the Regional Policy Roadmap for air conditioners and lighting appliances. 

Dan Valeriz, Technical Officer of Energy Efficiency and Conservation (CEE) Department at ACE, presented the preliminary findings of the Regional Market Assessment of Energy-Efficient Household Refrigerators in ASEAN, in workshop session 2. The assessment highlighted distinct trends and preferences in the Southeast Asian refrigerator market, showing a growing demand for mid-sized and larger refrigerators. It also noted that some AMS use their own method to calculate MEPS, underscoring the need to harmonise the MEPS across the region. The subsequent discussion held between ACE and workshop participants emphasised the need for thorough data validation. 

Photo 5. Dan Valeriz, Officer of CEE at ACE, presenting the Regional Market Assessment of Energy-Efficient Household Refrigerators in ASEAN.

The subsequent workshop session delved into Round-Robin Testing (RRT) for Lighting Appliances in ASEAN. Irma Ramadan, Associate Senior Officer of CEE at ACE, introduced the overview of the RRT activities. Dr Revantino from Center of Industrial Standardization and Services for Material and Technical Products (BBSPJIBBT), regarding the Nucleus Laboratory, updated the attendees on the latest progress regarding the RRT protocol guidelines. The laboratory participants – including— Energy Efficiency Lamp Laboratory SIRIM QAS International Sdn. Bhd. from Malaysia, Energy Research and Testing Laboratory Services – Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory (ERTLS-LATL) from the Philippines, and Electrical and Electronics Institute Foundation for Industrial Development from Thailand — provided insightful feedback on the draft guidelines.

Photo 6. Presentation of RRT for Lighting Appliances by Irma Ramadan from ACE and Dr Revantino from BBSPJIBBT as the Nucleus Laboratory

Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, Senior Officer of CEE Department at ACE, opened the next session with an overview of the Regional Product Registration System (PRS) Database for Appliances. ACE will gather the data of registered appliances from national PRS and integrate the database into an Application Program Interface (API) platform. Dr Supachai Sampao then led the discussion to address critical points regarding the further development of the regional PRS database. 

Photo 7. Presentation of Regional Product Registration Database for Appliances by Rio Jon Piter Silitonga, Senior Officer of ACE

In the fifth session, Irma Ramadan presented the Status Update and Plans for the Milestones within OBS 1 on Appliances. Following her presentation, Dr Supachai Sampao led a discussion focused on key issues related to these milestones, including the timeline of activities, the scale of priorities, and potential collaborations with various stakeholders. 

The first day of the ASEAN Energy Efficiency and Conservation Working Group Workshop concluded with an insightful summary and way forward for OBS 1, delivered by Dr Zulfikar Yurnaidi, Acting Head of CEE Department at ACE. In the closing remarks, Dr Supachai Sampao, Chair of Working Group on Appliances, emphasised the importance of the workshop’s discussion results and their potential impact on the lives of millions across ASEAN. 

Photo 8. Summary and Way Forward for OBS 1 by Dr Zulfikar Yurnaidi, Acting Head of CEE at ACE and Closing Remarks by Dr Supachai Sampao, Chair of Working Group on Appliances