Cabinet has accepted a Ministry submission that the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) be given powers to certify energy standards for imported appliances.
Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell says the proposal, which was submitted to Cabinet on Monday, aims to stipulate the minimum energy standard which appliances being imported, must meet.
The Minister says the country's foreign partners might be inclined to ship gifts in the form of appliances which might not be deemed energy efficient to Jamaica.
According to Paulwell, in instances which this occurs the country can indicate there are minimum energy standards, below which the gifts cannot be accommodated.
He also highlighted the results from last year's initial implementation of the Government’s US$20 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation Project across government ministries, departments and agencies.
The aim is to save US$4 billion in energy costs.
The next phase of the project will deal with lighting.
More than 100,000 lighting fixtures will be replaced and over 5,000 air conditioning systems will be replaced.