Energy Commission Seizes 3,400 Used Fridges

The Energy Commission has taken delivery of about 34 containers loaded with about 3,400 used fridges that have been impounded at the Tema Port. Addressing the media at the premises of the City and Waste Management Company in Accra, Public Affairs Officer of the Commission, Victor Owusu, disclosed that Environcom Limited, a UK based company, imported 17 out of the 34 containers � a move he said was contrary to the requirements of his outfit. Mr. Owusu mentioned that the seized items would not appear at the Ghanaian market, adding that the Commission had already seized 58 refrigerators and 77 second-hand air conditioners which are being dismantled. The used items, which include air conditioners and refrigerators, would be dismantled at the factory of the City and Waste Management Company under strict hygienic conditions. The ban on the importation of used fridges and other electronic gadgets forms part of an energy conservation campaign nationwide, which the Energy Commission is embarking upon with its stakeholders, per a Legislative Instrument that came into force in January 2013. He said his outfit would enforce the law accordingly, stating that �it is enshrined in the law that, a person who contravenes the regulation commits an offense and is liable for summary conviction to a fine not exceeding GH250,000 or a term of imprisonment of not more than 12 months.� �The sanction would be applied, adding that �the most important thing for us is that the operation will achieve its intended goal that the used items don�t see the light of day on the market.� The Commission, in September last year, introduced a scheme to encourage consumers to tender in their used fridges for new ones at a discount. Mr. Victor Owusu assured the public that they were working relentlessly to curb the illegal trend, urging them to exchange their old fridges for new ones. The Commission announced in May 2013 that the scheme would be rolled across the ten regions of Ghana, after a pilot project had been embarked upon. He further revealed that 4,000 refrigerators had been exchanged since the scheme commenced in September 19, 2012 - �a clear indication that the Commission has removed the same number of inefficient refrigerators and from various households and replaced them with new replaced them new energy-efficient ones.� Mr. Owusu disclosed that the Commission would exchange about 50,000 units of refrigerators by the end of the three-year programme.