HC Deb 10 July 1989 vol 156 cc379-80W
Mr. Morley

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans(a) to introduce legislation to ensure that electrical appliances are labelled to give details of their energy use so that consumers may choose the most energy efficient brand of any given type of appliance and (b) to press the European Communities to regulate to ensure labelling of electrical appliances.

Mr. Peter Morrison

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to the hon. Member for Truro (Mr. Taylor) on 16 May 1988 at column299 and to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 20 February 1989 at columns 470–71.

Mr. Morley

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he has any plans to press the European Communities to regulate the energy efficiencies of electrical appliances to ensure that they achieve minimum efficiency standards that would be set by the EC and updated along with technological developments.

Mr. Peter Morrison

No.

Mr. Elliot Morley

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department has evaluated claims that use of electricity could be reduced by 70 per cent. without reducing the present level of electricial services if the most energy efficient electrical appliances currently available were used throughout the country, and if other conservation measures including combined heat and power/district heating schemes, prohibiting wasteful energy systems, tightening building regulations' were introduced.

Mr. Peter Morrison

My Energy Efficiency Office is in the process of commissioning a study on the energy efficiency of electrical appliances. However, improvements in efficiency in domestic appliances, as with improvements in industrial processes, and construction and use of combined heat and power systems, do not necessarily lead to a reduction in the use of electricity. The increased efficiency may be taken as increased warmth or increased production, and increased energy efficiency may mean changing from another fuel to electricity.