Great Britain opens consultation on tougher standby-power standards

Proposals cover household and office equipment in England, Scotland and Wales. Responses are invited until 24 December; the changes are not yet law.

issue.red Published 18 Oct 2026, 14:10 1 min read

Great Britain standby-power consultation: views due 24 December; household and office equipment, proposals not final. Photograph of a British plug and appliance drawings. — AI-created editorial collage with appliance drawings and a 2019 photograph of a British BS 1363 plug by Asim18 (Asim Saleem), cropped by Hohum in 2023 / Wikimedia Commons. The plug is a contextual illustration; the proposals concern equipment energy use, not a ban on this plug. Photograph and adaptation: CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BS1363_Plug_04.jpg · Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Household and office equipment sold in Great Britain could face updated limits on electricity used while idle, under proposals opened for consultation on 16 October. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is seeking responses until 24 December 2026 at 11:59pm.

Which market is covered?

The consultation applies to England, Scotland and Wales. It proposes replacing two existing ecodesign regulations with a single framework aligned with the EU’s 2023/826 standards. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are among the groups invited to respond, alongside consumer and environmental organisations.

The review covers standby, off mode and networked standby, where equipment remains connected to a network. Ministers propose moving to the full new requirements in one step in the second quarter of 2027, rather than using two implementation stages.

What happens next?

These are proposals, not a rule change already in force. The consultation asks whether the suggested timetable gives businesses enough preparation time. Responses can be submitted through the online route linked on GOV.UK or to the department’s published consultation email address.

Sources

Standby-power consultation, 16 October 2026 — Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Original consultation document: scope,deadline and proposed timetable — Department for Energy Security and Net Zero