UNBS burns sh100m electric cables
Apr 16, 2009
THE Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has burnt 210 cartons of sub-standard electrical cables worth sh100m.
By Vision Reporter
THE Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has burnt 210 cartons of sub-standard electrical cables worth sh100m.
“The over 5,000 extension cables with a brand name of Plabat were imported from China by an Indian businessman with a company in Uganda registered as Hitec India,†Dr. Terry Kahuma, the UNBS executive director, explained.
He said sub-standard electrical equipment were among the major causes of fire outbreaks in the country.
“The cables that we impounded before they were put on the market do not have a country of origin. What is marked on them is that they are a product of an International Standards Organisation (ISO) certified company that is not mentioned,†Kahuma told journalists at Kiteezi in Kampala.
“The public should be careful when purchasing electrical equipment because these are already on the market in many shops in town,†he said.
The UNBS quality assurance manager, Deus Mubangizi, said the adaptor on the cables reads that you must use three cables each of 1.25m square millimeters.
“But when you look at the wire inside the cable, it is of 0.75 square millimeters, so the wire does not match with the adaptor’s readings,†he said during the burning of the cables.
“This means that when you pass the power meant for 1.25sq.mm through the 0.75sq.mm, the cables heat up. The heat then burns the insulator,†Mubangizi explained.
THE Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has burnt 210 cartons of sub-standard electrical cables worth sh100m.
“The over 5,000 extension cables with a brand name of Plabat were imported from China by an Indian businessman with a company in Uganda registered as Hitec India,†Dr. Terry Kahuma, the UNBS executive director, explained.
He said sub-standard electrical equipment were among the major causes of fire outbreaks in the country.
“The cables that we impounded before they were put on the market do not have a country of origin. What is marked on them is that they are a product of an International Standards Organisation (ISO) certified company that is not mentioned,†Kahuma told journalists at Kiteezi in Kampala.
“The public should be careful when purchasing electrical equipment because these are already on the market in many shops in town,†he said.
The UNBS quality assurance manager, Deus Mubangizi, said the adaptor on the cables reads that you must use three cables each of 1.25m square millimeters.
“But when you look at the wire inside the cable, it is of 0.75 square millimeters, so the wire does not match with the adaptor’s readings,†he said during the burning of the cables.
“This means that when you pass the power meant for 1.25sq.mm through the 0.75sq.mm, the cables heat up. The heat then burns the insulator,†Mubangizi explained.