In industrially-developed nations and large developing nations, electric motors account for a considerable proportion of total national power consumption. Statistics indicate that electric motors are responsible for about two-thirds of industrial power consumption in each nation, or about 40% of overall power consumption, which means that the electric motor system consumes 679 billion kWh of electric power each year. Adopting existing well-established energy-conserving technologies and products would result in savings of approximately 11–18% (75–122 billion kWh) of electric power annually, which would also mean saving US $3.6–5.8 billion in electricity costs.

China proposed this research topic to APEC with the support of Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, and the United States. Under the guidance of the Chinese National Institute of Standardization, a technical advisory group developed practical suggestions to improve motor and motor system energy efficiency in APEC economies. The following recommendations resulted from their work:

1. Harmonization of energy efficiency standards in major APEC economies: APEC members should revise the minimum energy efficiency standard for their electric motors as soon as possible in accordance with the standard. One way to solve the problem is that all of APEC economies craft their standards to keep the same efficiency values to the current IEC 60034-30, but various countries can take different numbering to indicate their product efficiency.
2. Harmonization of testing methods for energy efficiency of electric motors in major APEC economies: Standard IEC60034-2-1 regarding energy efficiency test method for IEC motors includes four methods, each with different evaluation techniques for uncertainty level testing. Different testing methods need various testing equipments and support, and low uncertainty testing methods normally cost the most. The APEC members should select suitable ones for testing based on the actual condition of their own motor industry and their social development level. There could be a research project done to identify accurate efficiency testing for the different testing methods for all range of power scope.
3. Harmonization of energy efficiency label for electric motors in major APEC economies:  Label design should be based on
   the grades setting specified in the standard, but countries have various practices in numbering for high and low efficiency products. The APEC work group suggests that different countries should adjust
   their energy efficiency labels in accordance with IEC energy efficiency rating so as to ensure that the products of the same rate can be mutually recognized in different countries.
4. Development and implementation of supporting policies for motors and their energy saving systems: Many developed countries have created financial incentives to advance energy efficiency in the electronic motor industry.We recommend that APEC members, especially developing countries, learn from the experiences of developed countries and develop associated energy conservation policies. The suggestions include tax rebates for customers and producers, government procurement of high efficiency
   products, and additional depreciation rate for the installment of high efficiency equipments, to name a few.