MCI, Emphasizes the continuation of its Inspection Rounds on the Commercial Institutions not Complying with (EEL) in various Regions of the Kingdom
MCI is continuing its efforts in tracking down the violators of the Energy Efficiency Label for all electrical devices. Consequently, the Ministry had shut down a warehouse in Dammam storing air conditioners not complying with the Saudi Standard Specifications. These electrical devices had been smuggled out of the local market to avoid MCI inspection campaigns carried out in various Regions of the Kingdom. Therefore, 200 air conditioners and refrigerators in violation of the Energy Efficiency Label were detected and confiscated, the owner was summoned for investigation and taking the legal procedures against him.
This comes within the joint coordination among the Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization and the Saudi Customs Authority. This comes within the framework of the Saudi Program for Energy Efficiency, which coordinates its efforts to preserve and raise the efficiency of energy consumption in the Kingdom, to design special programs to raise the energy efficiency, and to overcome any encountered obstacles or difficulties.
It is worth mentioning that this came after the Saudi Customs Authority had made full control over the Kingdom's imports of air conditioners, to ensure their compliance with the energy efficiency standards, as well as MCI and Customs Authority had been exchanging information on importers not complying with such requirements, either through the Saudi ports or in the local markets. This has led to a kind of integration between the two sides and make them facilitate the procedures for those committed with the required specifications on one hand, and making full control over the violators on the other hand.
The details go back when MCI received a notification reporting about a random warehouse storing electrical appliances not complying with the Standard Specifications, inside one of the rest houses in Al Faisaliah quarter in Dammam. The MCI inspectors monitored the lack of official licenses or commercial registration with the owner, who stored such quantities for a long period of time.
The confiscated quantities included 100 A/C window, 30 split conditioner units, in addition to 70 refrigerators.
MCI had begun its inspection rounds, after conducting an awareness campaign describing the objectives of the Energy Efficiency Label and the importance to be committed to its requirements by all traders. Consequently, all violating devices were confiscated. MCI would like to confirm the continuation of its inspection rounds on warehouses and commercial institutions to ensure the conformity of the offered devices with the Saudi Standard Specifications.
MCI calls on all consumers to report about the absence of Energy Efficiency Label on air conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines in any shop, through contacting the Notification Center on 1900.