South Africa recently adopted new and world-leading minimum energy performance standards for general service lighting and industrial electric motors aligned with international benchmarks such as United for Efficiency’s model regulation guidelines for lighting and electric motors.  

In 2023, South Africa adopted mandatory minimum energy performance standards for general service lamps, requiring these products to have a minimum luminous efficiency rate of 90 lumens per watt. This requirement will increase to 105 lumens per watt in 2026. This represents a significant achievement as it will effectively phase out inefficient incandescent and mercury-containing fluorescent lighting from the market. The United Nations Environment Programme’s United for Efficiency initiative estimates that a transition to efficient lighting in South Africa could result in potential annual savings in 2030 of at least 1 TWh of electricity (equivalent to two new 100 MW power plants), $104 million USD in electricity costs, and avoid 1 million tonnes of CO2 annually (equivalent to taking around 610 thousand cars off the road). 

In June 2024, South Africa adopted mandatory minimum energy performance standards for industrial electric motors. Electric motors are responsible for 50% of global energy consumption. The new policy requires that electric motors with power ratings from 0.75 kW to 375 kW must have a minimum efficiency class of IE3, as defined in IEC 60034-30-1.  

The new regulation is a significant achievement for South Africa. Previously, the country did not regulate the energy efficiency of electric motors. Their decision to leapfrog directly to mandatory standards for industrial electric motors at IE3 is notable. Instead of gradually progressing through lower efficiency classes like IE1 or IE2, South Africa has strategically chosen to adopt the more advanced IE3 standard, leading to greater energy savings.   

Roughly 200,000 electric motor units are sold each year with nearly 70% ranging between 0.75 kW and 11 kW. Up to half of these motors have no stated energy rating, implying that they are the most inefficient motors available. The new policy will significantly impact energy consumption and substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Africa’s largest generator of coal-fired electricity.