7.4.2009 Official Journal of the European Union L 933 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 278/2009 of 6 April 2009 implementing Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to ecodesign requirements for no-load condition electric power consumption and average active efficiency of external power supplies (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Directive 2005/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2005 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy- using products and amending Council Directive 92/42/EEC and Directives 96/57/EC and 2000/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (') and in particular Article 15(1) thereof, After consulting the Ecodesign Consultation Forum, Whereas: (1) Under Directive 2005/32/EC ecodesign requirements are to be set by the Commission for energy-using products representing  significant volumes of sales and trade, having a significant environmental impact and presenting significant potential for improvement in terms of their environmental impact without entailing excessive costs. (2)  Article 16(2) of Directive 2005/32/EC provides that in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 19(3) and the criteria set out in Article 15(2), and after consulting the consultation forum, the Commission will as appropriate introduce an implemen- ting measure for office equipment and consumer elec- tronics. (3)  Office equipment and consumer electronics are often powered by external power supplies (EPS) which convert electricity from the mains power source. The power conversion efficiency of external power supplies is an important aspect of the energy performance of such products, and thus external power supplies are one of the priority  product groups for which  ecodesign requirements should be established. (") OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p. 29. S The Commission has carried out a preparatory study to analyse the technical, environmental and economic aspects of external power supplies. The study has been carried out together with stakeholders and interested parties from the Community and third countries, and the results have been made publicly available. It is stated in the preparatory study that external power supplies are placed on the Community market in large quantities, with their annual energy consumption in all lifecycle stages being the most significant environmental aspect, and their annual electricity consumption due to losses for power conversion and no-load amounting to 17 TWh, corresponding to 6,8 Mt of CO, emissions. In the absence of measures this consumption is predicted to increase to 31 TWh in 2020. It has been concluded that the lifecycle energy consumption and the use-phase elec- tricity consumption can be improved significantly. Improvements in the electricity consumption of external power supplies should be achieved by applying existing non-proprietary ~ cost-effective technologies that can reduce the total costs of purchasing and operating external power supplies. Ecodesign requirements should harmonise electricity consumption requirements for no-load condition power consumption and average active efficiency of external power supplies throughout the Community, thus contri- buting to the functioning of the internal market and to the improvement of the environmental performance of these products. The ecodesign requirements should not have negative impact on the functionality of the product and should not affect negatively health, safety and the environment. In particular, the benefits of reducing electricity consumption during the use phase should more than offset potential additional environmental impacts during the production phase.