The latest draft of the proposed new Regulation to replace the Energy Labelling framework Directive of 2010 is now being negotiated by the European Parliament, Council and Commission. The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) was to produce a draft report this month for discussion on 22-23 February 2016. The vote on that report is expected to take place in May.

The key changes proposed are the introduction of a new A-G scale and a requirement for manufacturers to enter all their technical data into a single database, with access to the most sensitive information being restricted to Market Surveillance Authorities. All existing labels will be rescaled over time.

There are two main areas of disagreement. Firstly the extent to which manufacturers can be expected to provide commercially sensitive information, given the risks of such information being accessed by their competitors and used to distort the market. Secondly the speed of rescaling. A third concern, rather dependent on the quality of the Commissions’ crystal ball, is how to ensure that all future labels remain up to date without frequent rescaling which would confuse consumers and undermine the credibility of the energy label.

The most up to date list of products with energy labels was published last June.