Government through the Energy Commission has commenced a pilot project dubbed: “Promoting Energy Efficient Appliance and Transformation of Refrigerating Appliance Market in Ghana” to improve the energy efficiency of appliance.

The project will provide funds to finance the rebates for the purchase of 50,000 new energy efficient refrigerators, after the old operational refrigerator appliance have been surrendered at participating retail shops.

The project is to establish an energy labeling system, setting and implementing a Minimum Energy Performance Standard and pushing efficiency levels beyond the mandatory standard through a consumer rebate, turn-in and incentive programme.

Professor Thomas Akabzaa, Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy who launched the project in Accra on Wednesday, said government had allocated GH¢ 3.00 million for three years to be disbursed in trenches of GH¢1 million per year to run the rebate scheme.

He said a study conducted in 2006 revealed that refrigerating appliance in Ghana consumed on the average 1,200 kilo watts hour per unit per annum.

“It is estimated that there are about two million inefficient refrigerating appliances in use throughout the country and the economic cost of the inefficient refrigerators in operation is not only quite enormous in monetary terms but also environmentally unfriendly,” he noted.

He announced that a refrigerator test facility would be installed by 2013 at the Ghana Standards Authority Laboratories to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements.

He said customers could turn-in their old refrigerator appliance at Somovision and Appliance masters retail shops for the rebate exercise while a participating bank was also there to provide consumer loans to assist customers who could still not afford to top up to buy the brand new energy efficient refrigerators.

He commended the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environmental Facility for supporting the implementation of the project with an amount of 2 million dollars over the period of three years.

Mr Eric Antwi Adjei, Coordinator for the project, said the project would strengthen the regulatory and institutional framework, develop monitoring and enforcement mechanisms and provide training to appliance professionals.

He said domestic refrigeration appliances would be the first end-use devices to be tackled, with a specific focus to address ozone depleting substances contained in the current stock of equipment.

He noted that the pilot bases, which had started in Accra and Tema this month was expected to end on 31st December this year.

“The project has been designed to erase some of the most significant barriers above and allow a faster transformation process for the market for refrigeration appliances in Ghana,” he added.

Mr. Kamil Kamaluddeen, UNDP Country Director, called for the creation and sustainability of partnership for effective implementation of the project.

He said: “If all these and other actors will be able to join and sustain their efforts in an effective and transparent partnership, the rebate scheme will benefit the entire nation.”

He commended the Energy Commission in its lead in the implementation of the project for an energy efficient appliance market in Ghana.