Electricity minister warns against counterfeit alternative energy products

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's demand for solar power systems has attracted a flurry of counterfeit products.

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says they are aware of the danger that comes with counterfeit products, adding that measures to weed out fake products are at an advanced stage.

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Ramokgopa said, "So what the ministry has initiated is a discussion with the major stakeholders in the state who are responsible for licensing and regulating some of these products that get manufactured and imported into the country, in particular the South African Bureau of Standards."

"We're also talking about the Institute of Electrical Engineers but the body that regulates the fraternity of the electrical profession in the country so that we are able to streamline if you like, the accreditation of installers but also address the issues with regards to the quality of the components that are being manufactured, be it batteries, inverter or solar or those that are being imported into the country."

"There's a flurry we've seen over a period of time as a result of our objective conditions here at home, the issues of load-shedding, there's a significant of appetite for people to install and as a result, there are some unscrupulous players in the system who are bringing into the country if you like, components that are not certified, and we know the dangers of what this can cause significant fires, I saw one of the major telecommunications companies, of course, they did say that it had to do with the solar panels, of course, we'll wait for an investigation."