E-micromobility, regulation and AI tackled at annual Electrical Product Safety Conference

With a theme of ‘Back to Basics’, Electrical Safety First’s 2025 Electrical Product Safety Conference brought together more than 290 experts and industry leaders to examine the crucial issues impacting the safety of electrical products.

With it’s busiest annual conference yet, this year saw a focus on e-micromobility and its challenges, highlighting the need not only for regulation, but also enforcement, as well as a deep dive into safety solutions and tackling growing issues such as the safety of e-bikes used by delivery riders in the gig economy.

In her keynote address to the conference, Lesley Rudd, chief executive of Electrical Safety First, touched upon the need to work together to ensure that safety legislation and regulation is keeping pace.

She said: “When I stood here last year, I noted that the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill had the potential to be revolutionary and that it could start to finally address the twin threats of unsafe batteries and third-party sellers selling dangerous goods online. I also highlighted that the devil would be in the detail, when the Government consults on the secondary regulations as part of the Act.”

Lesley Rudd reiterated the need for any such secondary regulations to be robust if it is to effectively tackle these twin threats facing the public.

The Government’s approach to legal protection for consumers was addressed in the opening keynote speech from Kate Dearden MP, Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection at the Department for Business and Trade.

She said: “Whilst AI, sustainability and e-commerce are the themes of this year’s conference, they are more than buzzwords. They are reshaping our world and the way products are designed, sold and used. And crucially, there raising new questions about how we keep people safe in a fast-moving global economy.”

She also told delegates the context around electrical products is changing and how our laws must evolve with it. She said: “The Product Regulation and Metrology Act gives us the powers we need to modernise our framework, respond to new risks and make decisions that reflect the UK’s priorities.”

The conference began with a Q&A with the Office for Product Safety and Standards and European Commission about safer products, highlighting why effective enforcement is important and the need to prioritise what matters most to consumers – the things harming people. Another session featured expert insights on getting the basics right, from product safety qualifications to how to ensure effective recalls.

How smarter policy making and advocacy can be achieved through data insights and effective collaboration was also under the spotlight, with the session concluding that it is not about watering down what you want, instead being realistic about what can be achieved.

The day was concluded with a glimpse into emerging issues and what’s next – including AI-driven safer shopping, installation and product safety alignment, safe reuse and repair, and empowering consumers.

The conference also saw the announcement and presentation of the Safety Innovation Award 2025, which this year was awarded to Flair Solutions for its E:BAG, a bag designed to contain and extinguish fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, with the business director being interviewed on stage.

The event, now in its 17th year, was sponsored by UL Standards & Engagement, and hosted in conjunction with International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organisation (ICPHSO).

To find out more, please visit: https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/conference