The Lighting Industry Association (LIA) fully supports ECA’s Blueprint for Electrification report as a timely and essential call to action. As the UK transitions to a clean power future, we must look beyond energy generation and address the systems, skills, and supply chains that underpin delivery.
Lighting may not generate electricity, but it remains one of the most powerful tools to reduce demand.
Responsible for nearly 15% of global electricity consumption, lighting, when upgraded to high-efficacy LEDs and intelligent controls, offers immediate and proven reductions in energy use. As heat pumps and EVs increase grid load, efficient lighting helps create capacity by cutting wasted power.
The Blueprint rightly identifies the risks of a fragmented approach to electrification. In lighting, as in many other electrotechnical product categories, regulation and product assurance are already well established through dedicated safety, environmental, and technical standards. Lighting sits outside the Construction Products Regulation because it is already governed by comprehensive, sector-specific legislation. As such, wider electrification strategies should recognise this existing framework, ensuring alignment without duplication, so innovation and compliance can thrive.
The Blueprint also emphasises the need for a skilled and trusted workforce. At The LIA, we’re investing in just that. Our Lighting Profession Map defines competencies across roles and career stages to guide training and development. Our ICEL Competency Scheme sets clear benchmarks for emergency lighting, from product design through to system design. And every LIA member undergoes rigorous quality audits before receiving the LIA badge, with ongoing annual reviews to ensure high standards are maintained.
The energy transition will only succeed if every part of the built environment plays its role. Lighting is ready.
We welcome the Blueprint as a guide for coordinated policy and investment, and we’re proud to support its delivery through the lens of the lighting sector.