Tensions rise over harmonised plug and socket system

Date: 28/11/1996

By Simon Coss

VESTED interests are blocking the introduction of a single European plug even though a tested prototype already exists, Commission officials claimed this week.

They said technical experts at Cenelec, the body which coordinates European standards, broadly agreed last month on specifications for a standard European plug. But their proposals were shot down by the organisation's commercial wing.

“Only the people who make plugs and sockets are holding this up,” said one official, adding that electrical goods manufacturers and consumers were crying out for a single plug.

In a recent letter to Cenelec's secretary-general, the European Committee of Manufacturers of Domestic Equipment stressed it was “strongly in favour” of a harmonised plug and socket system and called on the organisation to try again to reach agreement.

Cenelec says last month's impasse resulted from a mixture of technical and practical reasons. “In the immediate future, there will be no European standards for a harmonised system,” said the organisation in a terse statement issued after October's abortive vote on the issue.

Plugmakers, not surprisingly, dispute the fact that a single European plug and socket system would be beneficial. “The introduction of yet another system will not enlarge the market. No company can afford to redesign and tool up for all its products to comply with a new standard. The investments involved are too costly and they cannot be paid back within a reasonable period of time since it will take many years before the new system sells in large quantities,” insisted a recent report by the Coalition of European Plug and Socket Manufacturers.

At the moment, Commission officials seem reluctant to back up their fighting talk with any concrete action.

Cenelec will meet again on 9 December to discuss the issue. If it fails to get agreement, the Commission has promised to launch an immediate study into the

Europlug, but has made no commitment on dates or action. “The Commission is a very prudent organisation. We do not want to rush things,” said one official.

Given that the problem of a single plug has been under discussion for the past 23 years - since the introduction of a 1973 directive on low-voltage electrical appliances - critics say this prudence seems just a little over-zealous.

The proposed Europlug is in fact an improved version of a 1986 design for a world-wide system drawn up by the International Electrotechnical Commission, the global version of Cenelec.

“If we adopt the new plug, Europe could lead the world in this area. The design is an updated version of the international plug, so it is ideally placed to become the world-wide standard,” said one expert.

Simon Hossack, inventor and long-time campaigner for a single European plug, feels the whole problem boils down to one simple fact. “It is protectionism pure and simple. Plug and socket manufacturers can see a brilliant new system over the horizon and they want to stop it,” he said.