This study analyzes impacts from energy efficiency standards and labeling in Mexico from 1994 through 2005 for four major products: household refrigerators, room air conditioners, three-phase (squirrel cage) induction motors, and clothes washeras. It is a retrospective analysis, seeking to assess verified impacts on product efficiency in the Mexican market in the first ten years after standards were implemented. Such an analysis allows the Mexican government to compare actual to originally forecast program benefits. In addition, it provides an extremely valuable benchmark for other countries considering standards, and to the energy policy community as a whole.

The methodology for evaluation begins with historical test data taken for a large number of models of each product type between 1994 and 2005. The pre-standard efficiency of models in 1994 is taken as a baseline throughout the analysis. Model efficiency data were provided by an independent certification laboratory (ANCE), which tested products as part of the certification and enforcement mechanism defined by the standards program. Using this data, together with economic and market data provided by both government and private sector sources, the analysis considers several types of national level program impacts. These include energy savings, environmental (emissions) impacts, and net financial impacts to consumers, manufacturers and utilities.

Energy savings impacts are calculated using the same methodology as the original projections, allowing a comparison. Other impacts are calculated using a robust and sophisticated methodology developed by the Instituto de Investigaciones Eléctricas (IIE) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), in a collaboration supported by the Collaborative Labeling and Standards Program (CLASP).

The impact of MEPS of the four products focused on in this report on the Mexican electricity system has been significant. Taken together, standards for these four products reduced electricity demand by 13.3 TWh in 2005, or 15.3 TWh of gross generation. Total gross generation in Mexico in 2005 was 160 TWh. Therefore, standards for these products accounted to a 9.6% reduction in demand in this year. In terms of capacity, standards reduced the need for total generating capacity of 3440 MW, or 6.4% of capacity installed by 2004 of 53561 MW.