Industrial Sector

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  5. Industrial Sector
  6. Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards 

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards 

Scope of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) will cover electrically-driven, water-cooled chilled water systems (WCCWS) in industrial facilities that:

a) has a total installed capacity1 of 1055 kW (300 RT) or more; and

b) produces chilled water at a temperature of 3°C or higher

Chillers solely utilising brine or glycol and air-cooled chillers that form part of the WCCWS will be exempted.

[1 Cooling capacity includes both operating and standby chillers ]

 An industrial facility refers to a corporation that has operational control of:

a) any multi-user facility that is located within any land that is zoned as a Business 1 or Business 2 zone in the Master Plan under the Planning Act 1998; or

b) a business activity attributable to any of the following industry sectors:

  1. manufacturing and manufacturing-related services;
  2. supply of electricity, gas, steam, compressed air and chilled water for air-conditioning; and
  3. water supply and sewage and waste management

 

Detailed Requirement

Under the Energy Conservation Act (ECA), corporations that are under the scope of MEES must:

  1. Register as a Registered Relevant Person (RRP)
  2. Comply with the prescribed MEES for the installed WCCWS
  3. Submit an Assessment Report and subsequent Monitoring Reports to show that their WCCWS conform to the prescribed MEES.   

Registration and submission of reports is done through the EDMA system at https://www.edma.gov.sg.  

WCCWS may be used for space or process cooling where a wide range of chilled water supply temperatures may be used. As temperature has a direct effect on the performance of a chiller, and thus the performance of a chilled water system, the performance standards vary for chilled water systems that operate at different chilled water supply temperatures.

From 1 April 2026, premises comprising a new building that require Planning Permission (PP) or equivalent and have WCCWS that is used solely for space cooling2 must comply with separate set of MEES (see Table 1 below) which is aligned with BCA’s implemented standards for new commercial buildings.  These premises (single user or multi-user whichever is applicable) are still subject to the same timeline to conform to MEES.

[2 Space cooling includes but is not limited to the cooling of spaces such as office areas, clean room, storage room etc]

Table 1: MEES levels corresponding to different chilled water supply temperatures


Chilled water supply temperature

(˚C)3

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

≥10

MEES4 in kWe/kWc5 (kW/RT)6

0.203

(0.71)

0.200

(0.70)

0.197

(0.69)

0.194

(0.68)

0.191

(0.67)

0.188

(0.66)

0.185

(0.65)

Energy performance for chilled water supply temperature ≥10°C to be improved from 0.185 kWe/kWc at 9°C by 0.003 kWe/kWc for every 1°C increase in chilled water supply temperature

(With effect from 1 Apr 2026)
Only for premises comprising a new building with water-cooled chilled water systems used solely for space cooling

MEES4 in kWe/kWc5 (kW/RT)6

0.191

(0.67)

0.188

(0.66)

0.185

(0.65)

0.182

(0.64)

0.179

(0.63)

3 To be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

4 Figures are only indicative, please refer to the Fifth Schedule of the Energy Conservation (Energy Management Practices) Regulations to determine the specified MEES

5 kWe/kWc = Total energy consumption of the chilled water system (kWhe) during the assessment period ÷ total cooling load produced by the system (kWhc) during the assessment period.

6 kW/RT = Total energy consumption of the chilled water system (kWhe) during the assessment period ÷ total cooling load produced by the system (RTh) during the assessment period.

To assess and monitor the operating energy efficiency of the WCCWS and show that the energy efficiency of the WCCWS conforms to MEES, a M&V system must be installed. The permanent measuring instruments in the M&V system should be linked to a monitoring system such as a building automation system (BAS) or a standalone energy management system (EMS). The monitoring system should be capable of:

  1. displaying and trend logging performance parameters; and
  2. aggregating the measurements collected by the permanent measuring instruments for the purpose of generating a report in a standard reporting format.

Refer to the attached file on M&V requirements and guidelines for MEES.

The Registered Relevant Person must submit an Assessment Report  to NEA through EDMA to show that:

a) the energy efficiency of the regulated WCCWS conforms to the prescribed MEES; and
b) the M&V system is accurate, which is demonstrated through a heat balance substantiating test6 where the heat balance is within 5% for 80% of the operating points during the assessment period.

[6 This indicator is the ratio of the difference between the heat input and the heat output, to the heat output of the chilled water system. Ideally, according to the law of conservation of energy, heat input to a system = heat output from a system. This indicator is used to determine the quality of the measurements i.e. the uncertainty, installation and position of the instruments.]

The Assessment Report must be:

a) prepared and endorsed by an Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) Assessor with systems-specific experience in chilled water systems or a Professional Engineer in the branch of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or chemical engineering; and
b) endorsed by the Chief Executive (or equivalent) and MEES representative of the company

After the approval of the Assessment Report by NEA, the Registered Relevant Person (RRP) must monitor the energy efficiency of the WCCWS to ensure continued conformance to MEES.

The RRP must submit a Monitoring Report on the key performance data and energy efficiency of the WCCWS to NEA to show that the operating system performance is maintained.  

For the Monitoring Report, it is not required to be prepared and endorsed by an EEO Assessor.  However, the report must:

  1. be prepared by the RRP and include the aggregated monitoring data of the WCCWS for a continuous period of at least 14 days within the calendar year immediately preceding the Monitoring Report submission;
  2. be in a standard reporting format (see attached) and uploaded onto EDMA;
  3. be endorsed by the MEES representative and Chief Executive of the RRP; and
  4. be submitted by 30 June of each year subsequent to the year which the Assessment Report is submitted

A New Industrial Facility (NIF) refers to a premises with a newly developed building that has a WCCWS, for which an application for Planning Permission (PP) clearance or its equivalent (i.e., Plan Lodgement) is submitted on or after 1 December 2020.

The registration and report submission timelines for NIF are shown in the table below. 

Type of Registrable Relevant Person (RRP)
Registration Deadline
(Year A)
Assessment Report Submission Deadline
(Year B)
Monitoring Report Submission Deadline
If the date of issue of the TOP or CSC for the new building is before 1 December 2025 By 1 June 2026

i) Single-user facility – Within 15 months from TOP

ii) Multi-user facility – Within 3 months after the earlier of the following:

(i) the date of TOP, and more than 80% of the gross floor area of the new building (or, where more than one new building is being developed, the new buildings) that the prescribed system serves is occupied; or 

(ii) the expiry of 3 years after the date of TOP

i) If assessment report is submitted on or before 30 June of Year B – by 30 June of Year B+1

ii) If assessment report is submitted after 30 June of Year B – by 30 June of Year B +2

and 30 June of each subsequent year


If the date of issue of the TOP or CSC for the new building is on or after 1 December 2025 Within 6 months from date of issue of TOP or CSC 

i) Single-user facility – 15 months from date registered; and

ii) Multi-user facility – 3 months after the earlier of the following:

a) 3 years after date of registration as a RRP; or 

b) the date of registration as a RRP and when 80 per cent of occupancy is reached

The registration and report submission timelines for Registered Corporations (RC) under the Energy Conservation Act (ECA) are shown in the table below.

Type of Registrable Relevant Person (RRP)
Registration Deadline
(Year A)
Assessment Report Submission Deadline
(Year B)
Monitoring Report Submission Deadline
RRP is RC as at 1 December 2025By 1 June 2026By 30 June 2026By 30 June of each year subsequent to Year B
RRP is registered as RC between 1 December 2025 and 30 November 2029 (both dates inclusive) Within 6 months of date X becomes registered under ECA
If X is registered—

(a) between 1 January and 30 May (both dates inclusive) of Year A — by 30 June Year A; or

(b) between 1 June and 31 December (both dates inclusive) of Year A — by 30 June of Year A +1

Registered as RC on or after 1 December 2029Refer to compliance timeline for other industrial facilities that is not a RC under the ECA

Existing industrial facilities with operational control over an applicable business activity under the scope of MEES but is not a Registered Corporation (RC) under the Energy Conservation Act (ECA) as the facility has not crossed the 54TJ threshold are given a longer compliance timeline.

The registration and report submission timelines for these facilities are shown in the table below. 

Type of Registrable Relevant Person (RRP)
Registration Deadline
(Year A)
Assessment Report Submission Deadline
(Year B)
Monitoring Report Submission Deadline
RRP has operational control of an applicable business activity as at 1 December 2029By 1 June 2030By 30 June 2030By 30 June of each year subsequent to Year B
RRP has operational control of an applicable business activity on or after 1 December 2029Within 6 months of date the WCCWS is in operation
If X is registered—

(a) between 1 January and 30 May (both dates inclusive) of Year A — by 30 June of Year A; or

(b) between 1 June and 31 December (both dates inclusive) of Year A — by 30 June of Year A+1

A chilled water business activity (CW BA) refers to the business activity of supplying chilled water for air-conditioning. 

The registration and report submission timelines for corporations that have operational control of CW BA are shown in the table below.

Type of Registrable Relevant Person (RRP)
Registration Deadline
(Year A)

Assessment Report Submission Deadline
(Year B)
Monitoring Report Submission Deadline
RRP has operational control of a CW BA and is a RC as at 1 December 25
By 1 June 2026


By 30 June 2026By 30 June of each year subsequent to Year B
RRP has operational control of a CW BA as at 1 December 25 that supplies chilled water solely to RC(s)
RRP has operational control of a CW BA as at 1 December 29 that supplies chilled water to:
i) Only non-RC(s); or
ii) RC(s) and non-RC(s)
By 1 June 2030By 30 June 2030
RRP has operational control of a CW BA on or after 1 December 25 that commence supply of chilled water solely to RCsWithin 6 months from supply commencement
If X is registered—

(a) between 1 January and 30 May (both dates inclusive) of Year A — by 30 June of Year A; or

(b) between 1 June and 31 December (both dates inclusive) of Year A — by 30 June of Year A+1
RRP has operational control of a CW BA on or after 1 December 29 that commence supply of chilled water to:
i) Only non-RC(s); or
ii) RC(s) and non-RC(s)

NEA will review the annual average operating system performance and other key performance data of the chilled water system. NEA may also conduct on-site verification on the accuracy of the M&V system.

In the event that a company fails to comply with any of the requirements, the company may be required to take corrective actions to ensure compliance. Fines will be imposed for non-compliance. 

The following information should be kept for a minimum of 5 years.

  1. Assessment Report, Monitoring Reports and all information used in producing the reports e.g. raw data and calculations7
  2. Technical specifications of chilled water system components
  3. All input parameters and settings for the permanent instrumentations
  4. Instruments’ calibration certificates from accredited laboratories and/or their factory calibration certificates from manufacturers
  5. As-built schematic drawings of the chilled water system

[7 Information recorded and calculated in the BAS/EMS should be kept in the EMS for a minimum of 3 years]

Grants are available to support companies to upgrade their water-cooled chilled water systems before the mandatory requirements kick in. Information on grants is available at the links below.

  1. Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG)
  2. Resource Efficiency Grant for Emissions (REG(E))

Industrial companies can email NEA at NEA_EEG@nea.gov.sg for more details on the EEG and contact EDB for enquiries on REG(E).