Philippines establishes national standard for energy efficiency of motors

On September 22, 2017, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced that the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) under the DTI has established PNS IEC 60034-30-1 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the Standard), a national standard governing the energy efficiency of motors. This is a standard that adopts the international standard (IEC 60034-30-1) provided by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and was established as part of the plan of the Department of Energy (DOE) to regulate the efficiency of electric motors. Specifically, the Standard establishes requirements for energy efficiency and provides guidelines for determining a set of limit efficiency values based on frequency, number of poles, and motor power.

The DTI explains that the Standard aims to encourage the introduction of more efficient motors and drive systems in the Philippine industry, as well as to encourage technological innovation to improve energy efficiency. The Standard makes no distinction between motor technologies, supply voltages, or insulation performance, which allows comparison between motors based on different technologies. Most of the motors covered by the Standard are rated for duty type S1 (continuous duty at constant load), but motors rated for other duty cycles that are capable of continuous operation at their rated power are also covered. The DTI stated that energy efficiency improvement programs are one of the best options for achieving GHG reductions because the investments in energy efficiency improvement can be made in a short period and the invest can be recovered in a short period of about two to three years with a reduction in electricity bills of 8 to 12%.

The Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers (IIEE), a national association of electrical practitioners, held a presentation on the Standard to explain its requirements at the Energy Smart Forum on September 26, in order to increase awareness of the Standard in the industry and encourage its implementation. Atty. Ernesto V. Perez, BPS officer and Assistant Secretary of the DTI’s Consumer Protection Group, said, “The PNS IEC 60034-30-1 is in line with international standards for energy efficiency. We expect that the Standard will help improve the international competitiveness of the Philippine motor industry. This process of adopting an international standard as a national standard is in accordance with our obligations under the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade to harmonize our national standard, PNS, with the international standards.”