The Department of Energy (DOE) is currently firming up guidelines on the accreditation of testing laboratories to measure the fuel efficiency of transport vehicles in the country.

In a draft circular recently issued by the department, it indicated that the guidelines shall set the criteria and requirements “for the recognition of service providers in the conduct of examination, testing and verification of the energy performance of energy-consuming products and transport vehicles,” – that is in keeping with the provisions of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act and its implementing rules and regulations.

The accreditation of vehicle fuel efficiency testing laboratories, according to the DOE, is also part of the Philippine Energy Labeling Program (PELP), which is being propagated as a policy of the government.

But before the proposed accreditation guidelines will be finalized, the energy department is soliciting inputs and comments from affected stakeholders; so the final version of the proposed measure will already take into consideration the concerns of industry players across the chain.

As emphasized by the DOE, the proposed circular “shall apply to the recognition of testing laboratories, both public and private, engaged in conducting energy efficiency performance test and fuel efficiency; and shall be independent from any manufacturer/importer in business covered by the energy labeling.”

The department explained that “the main purpose of recognition of testing laboratories is to conduct verification testing of the claimed efficiency rating of a particular energy-consuming product (ECP),” – and that shall include “the claimed fuel efficiency of a transport vehicle by a person or entity engaged in manufacturing, importing, supplying, distribution and retailing ECPs and transport vehicles.”

In the accreditation of testing laboratories, the department specified that the testing shall be done by an independent body that is capable of carrying out tests or certifications that are aligned with international standards. By far, the official accreditation body in the country is the Philippine Accreditation Bureau.

For applicant-entities that will pass the assessment and accreditation requirements, it was noted that it shall be the DOE Director for Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) that will issue the Certificate of Recognition for the testing laboratories; and the same official is also empowered to “disapprove the application based on the findings of the assessment.

“Upon submission of application documents from the applicant, DOE shall within two working days determine the completeness of the application documents,” the department said.

The agency similarly stipulated that “incomplete requirements shall be returned to the applicant with corresponding assessment from the DOE.”

It was likewise prescribed that “the testing laboratory shall provide access for the assessment team in the conduct of their duty to inspect the equipment, facilities and operational documents of the laboratory to verify compliance by its personnel with the standards set.”

The DOE expounded that “during the inspection, the applicant shall be informed of any deficiency or non-conformity on the areas in which the testing laboratory failed to meet the requirements/standards and shall be recommended of its corrective measures;” and the applicant is given at least 30 days to sort out the recommended corrective measures.

“Within this prescribed period, the applicant should submit corrective action report with evidence of specific corrective actions and a written request for reassessment,” the draft Circular noted, specifying further that “the assessment team shall conduct an additional on-site inspection, if necessary, to check whether the corrective measures have been properly undertaken.”