Rebate scheme heaps up 10,000 used fridges

Ghanaians have exchanged for new ones a total of 10,000 old, energy sapping refrigerating appliances, as the rebate scheme introduced by the Energy Commission in 2012 draws to a close.

Although the figure is 5000 short of the target, the commission sees its campaign to move Ghanaians unto energy-efficient refrigerators as a huge success as consumers have become accustomed to the star rating on refrigerators which indicate their efficiency levels.

The star rating ranges from one to five, with five denoting the highest level of efficiency in a refrigerating appliance.

The schemed aimed to transform the refrigerating market from used and inefficient ones to new and efficient ones, and to reverse the market share of new and old fridges of 30%: 70%.

At the end of the campaign, the average refrigerator consumption has been reduced from 1,200 kilowatt hours per year to 600kWh/yr, which is the global standard, the commission said at a meeting in Accra with stakeholders.

Participants in the rebate scheme, in particular, the commission said, have had their consumption reduced to 385kWh/yr. from 1,200kWh/yr.

“Mean household income savings of about GHC558 per year accrued to beneficiaries of the rebate scheme.”

The campaign was backed by a ban on the importation of used fridges into the country, and although the commission admits some recalcitrant importers continue to devise ways of bringing them in, it feels there is a lot celebrate.

“The rebate was to serve as a stop-gap measure, a bridge to link consumers from inefficient appliances to efficient ones, Kofi Agyarko, who is in charge of energy efficiency at the commission, said.

“...efficient refrigerating appliances have become a household name; it means that, in a way, we have achieved the very objective. If you go to the shops right now, the shop owners will tell you that one star-rated fridges are difficult to sell. Why is that? People want three stars or more…” he said.

The campaign has encouraged the establishment of a refrigerator assembling plant in Tema, whilst 1500kg of chlorofluorocarbons, which the old fridges would have released into the atmosphere, has been recovered, the commission said as part of the achievements of the campaign.