23,000 sub-standard refrigerating appliances seized in 4 years

More than 23,000 second-hand refrigerating appliances have been confiscated by the Energy Commission (EC) since 2013 after the commission intensified its clamp down on sub-standard appliances.

Also seized are new refrigerating appliances that do not meet the commission’s standards. All together, the exercise saved the country 400 giga watts hours (GWh) of power.

According to the Acting Director, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change of the Commission, Kofi Agyarko, the power saved is one-third of the Bui Power Generating Station’s annual power capacity of 1,200GWh.

At the launch of a Certificated Refrigerating Mobile Application in Accra, yesterday, he said but for confiscation of the appliances, the recent past power crisis in the country would have been worse.

“So if Bui is costing us $600 million to build and we use less than roughly three million dollars to save a third of Bui capacity, that is something very significant.” he said.

He said the seized appliances were being dismantled as scraps, adding that but for the passage of the Commission’s‌ LI 1923 and the resolve of the Commission to enforce it, the country would have been littered with inferior appliances.

The mobile application designed by staff of the Commission and available on Google playstore, is to assist customers to identify energy efficient refrigerators, their star ratings, brands and models and whether they are approved to be used in Ghana.

It helps to calculate the monthly consumption and the bill of the appliance to enable the prospective customer take an informed decision as well as find nearby retail shops that sell approved appliances.

It also provides energy saving tips and would enable the commission locate and weed out substandard refrigerating appliances that are smuggled into the country.

Mr. Agyarko said the application was developed to bring sanity into the market and ensure 100 per cent compliance of the Commission’s regulations on proper labeling of appliances.

He cautioned that a person found guilty to have imported substandard appliances into the country could be fined at most 60 penalty units (GH¢720.00) or serve a year prison term.

He commended importers of appliances for ensuring 98 per cent compliance to its regulations but warned them against the use of fake labeling, saying “we will flush you out like water.”

He urged Ghanaians to disabuse their minds that second hand products are the best and take advantage of the application to acquire energy saving and durable appliances.

He said very soon, all electrical appliances would be added to the app to enable prospective buyers get information about it before they purchase them.

The Head of Public Affairs , Victor Owusu, said the fight against second-hand appliance , had helped to boost investor confidence in the country and hinted that some investor are to set up a refrigeration assembling plant in the country.

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