On 15 and 16 December 2015, the Ministry of Energy of Georgia, together with the INOGATE Technical Secretariat (ITS), organised a workshop on "Market Transformation Strategy for Lighting Products in Georgia". Decision makers from relevant ministries and government agencies attended, marking the starting point for technical assistance by ITS.

Lighting is responsible for 15% of global electricity consumption and an important consumer of energy in the European Union. While the energy consumed by lighting has declined significantly in recent years due to the wide-scale diffusion of Compact Fluorescent Lamps, further significant reductions in consumption are envisaged due to the expected market uptake of light emitting diode (LED) lamps.

Improving the efficiency of lighting in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors in Georgia can potentially save about 374 GWh in the country’s annual electricity consumption. This accounts for about 5.4% of total national electricity consumption and 32% of electricity consumption used for lighting. To put this saving in context, it equates to the output of three small 20 MW power plants.

While most incandescent lamps (except non-directional halogen lamps, which are due to be phased out in 2017) are already banned from the EU market (according to Ecodesign Regulation 244/2009), there are no regulations in place in Georgia, which would either restrict the commercialisation of inefficient lamps or promote the sales of new, highly efficient lighting products.

The objective of the two-day workshop was to raise awareness of such a potential market transformation for lighting products – both by regulatory and non-regulatory measures – and provide senior staff of the Ministry of Energy and other relevant ministries and government agencies with information on:

• Energy efficient lighting technologies, standards and potential savings;
• The EU Ecodesign & Energy Labelling Directives, and their specific implications for lighting products;
• Ecodesign compliance, conformity testing and market surveillance;
• Non-regulatory measures to support the transformation of the lighting market towards more efficient products;
• The current lighting market in Georgia.

The event included a visit to a retailer of efficient lighting products in Tbilisi.

Following the workshop, the Ministry of Energy and ITS agreed on the following three policy options, which will be analysed by the ITS experts, with regard to their costs and benefits for consumers, suppliers and the Georgian economy:

• The transposition of the EU Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Directives, which will be required under the EU - Georgia Association Agreement and the forthcoming membership of Georgia in the Energy Community;
• Fiscal measures, and
• Green public procurement for lighting in public sector buildings.