The country is making savings of about US$52million annually as a result of implementing the standards and labelling regime of the Energy Commission (EC), extended to cover air-conditioners. Board-member of the EC Mr. Kofi Wayo has disclosed that implementation of the policy to replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs for lighting, since 2008, is also saving the country about US$33million annually. Additionally, income savings of about GH¢31million are being made resulting from the switch from incandescent to CFLs, while the reduction of peak demand from energy-efficient appliances has improved grid reliability - thus ensuring better and more stable power to consumers. The EC now estimates that the implementation of standards and labelling on refrigeration appliances will save the country over US$100million annually. Mr. Wayo, launching the EC’s Second Energy Efficiency and Conservation Month themed “The Role of Standards and Labelling in the Promotion of Efficiency”, observed that Ghana requires the strict enforcement of standards to promote energy-efficiency and to protect vulnerable consumers from shoddy and dangerous products. “We are focusing on standards and labelling this year, because consumers are often inclined to buy the cheapest products on the market. “This burdens them with much higher running costs for years to come, resulting in increased energy demand and cost than would have been needed if all products complied with minimum standards and labelling requirements,” he added. Wayo said the EC, as a regulator, is duty-bound to protect Ghanaian consumers from expensive “cheap buys” and manufacturers of highly inefficient products from producers who want to saturate the market with their expensive but shoddy products. The EC’s insistence on standards and labelling, he also observed, is to ensure that cheap products and their associated high energy consumption - which is a drain on the grid and the economy - are removed.