site.btaImported Dangerous Electrical Cables Flood Bulgarian Market

Cheap dangerous electrical cables are flooding the Bulgarian market, the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BAEEE) warned. Such cables, imported from Turkiye, North Macedonia, China and Bosnia and Herzegovina, are used mostly in the construction of electrical installations for residential, commercial and other public facilities.

Demand for them has been growing in recent years due to the boom in construction.

BAEEE experts caution that the cables must meet manufacturing standards, as compromise in quality increases the risk of failures in electrical installations and fires and could endanger lives.

Fake imported cables are indistinguishable from the real ones without proper tests, which means that consumers are unable to make an informed choice on the market.

While many EU Member States require a mandatory certification by an accredited laboratory to prove that the imported cables comply with their national standards, in Bulgaria, there is no regulatory basis for the control of imports of cable products. Control authorities here do not carry out checks for quality and compliance with the standards.

BAEEE insists that Bulgaria should also introduce mandatory certification and control of imports of cable products from third countries through regular inspections. BAEEE sent a proposal with measures to restrict the import of dangerous electrical cables has also been sent to the Ministry of Economy on July 22, 2024.