Trilateral initiative project between Canada, United States and Mexico on the safety of power banks

Since 2015, the three North American national product safety organizations - Health Canada (HC), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and Mexico's Consumer Protection Federal Agency (PROFECO) - have been working together on trilateral initiatives geared towards improving North American consumer product safety.

The second research project under this initiative focused on testing power banks. These are small, portable, battery-powered supplies that can power or recharge low-voltage portable electronic devices, such as a mobile phone or a tablet. These products are widely available in all three countries.

The goal of this project was to identify potential fire hazards these products may pose to users and property and identify possible improvements to existing safety standards. In February 2023, the three product safety organizations recommended that the Underwriters Laboratory Standards Technical Panel for UL 2056, Power Banks develop a tri-national safety standard covering power banks for use in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. This will improve safety standards for these products in all three countries.

A letter has been signed by all three organizations and sent to the Underwriters Laboratory.