A review of the legislative landscape and refrigeration market for introducing an energy efficiency standards and labeling program for refrigeration appliances in Uganda

Uganda's poor grid connectivity and high utility prices have forced its users to reduce appliance usage to save energy costs. In such a scenario, energy efficiency programs can greatly help end users to lower energy bills while increasing energy usage in appliances. The authors are providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD), Uganda, on the design of energy efficiency standards and labeling programs for residential refrigeration products in Uganda. Refrigeration appears to be the largest source of residential energy consumption in Uganda (~200 Gigawatt-hours per year) (GWh/year), which represents about 28% of the electricity consumption in the residential sector. Existing opportunities for energy efficiency in refrigerators can reduce per-unit energy use by as much as 60% in developing countries with unregulated markets dominated by inefficient refrigerators. The improved energy efficiency of refrigeration also contributes to achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals such as Climate Action and Access to Affordable and Clean Energy, which have been adopted by Uganda. The authors discuss the steps for creating a database of models sold in Uganda to estimate the baseline energy consumption of this equipment. They also present a literature review of the existing legal framework and administrative and enforcement capacities in Uganda and its neighboring countries, Rwanda and Kenya. Lessons learned from the neighboring countries will be used to address challenges in Uganda's existing legislative and administrative capabilities and to publish and enforce standards. The paper concludes by highlighting the role of these aspects in designing energy efficiency standards for residential refrigeration products in Uganda