16 / 116
1 6
E L E CT R I C AL CONNE CT I ON
S P R I NG 2 01 5
INDUSTRY NEWS
Time is running out for thousands of
Australian homes and businesses to
find out if they have faulty electrical
cabling before it poses a serious
danger, the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission has warned.
The degrading cable could cause
fires or electric shocks from as early as
2016. An estimated 3,900km of unsafe
cable was supplied and approximately
2,800km is yet to be remediated,
recovered or scheduled for remediation
under the recall. Approximately 28% of
the cable has been accounted for.
“The ACCC is extremely concerned
that over 70% of the cable supplied
has not been accounted for under
the recall,” ACCC deputy chair Delia
Rickard says.
In August, the ACCC held an Infinity
Regulatory Taskforce meeting with
electrical, building and Australian
Consumer Law regulators to discuss
and agree what more is needed from
businesses on this front.
“It is clear that all businesses in the
supply chain need to be doing more
to alert consumers to the recall and
remediation options.”
“The ACCC is urging electricians,
builders and contractors to notify their
customers and cable suppliers if they
installed Infinity cables between 2010
and 2013,” Delia says.
The ACCC recently undertook
an advertising campaign to warn
consumers about the risks of Infinity
cables.
“Consumers that purchased new
properties, undertook renovations, had
appliances installed or had electrical
work carried out in the past few years
should contact a licensed electrician
for a safety inspection to determine if
Infinity cables were installed.
“Consumers should not attempt to
inspect cables themselves. Any affected
cable installed in accessible areas or
near heat sources must be removed
and replaced under the safety recall.”
Infinity cables were recalled last
year after they failed electrical safety
standards due to poor quality plastic
insulation coating, which will become
brittle prematurely. Once the insulation
is brittle, physical contact with the
cables could dislodge the insulation and
lead to electric shock or possibly fires.
The risk of physical contact is
highest in roof spaces and under
raised floors. Cables exposed to
prolonged high temperatures will
degrade at a faster rate.
ACCC “EXTREMELY CONCERNED” ABOUT INFINITY CABLE RECALL PROGRESS
The ACT Government has decided to
release the address list of 1,021 homes
confirmed to contain asbestos-affected
home insulation, installed by Mr Fluffy.
It’s estimated that up to 30,000
residents may be affected by the release
of the database.
Last year, the ACT Government
announced that the affected homes
would be bought back from present
owners and demolished, following a $1
billion loan from the Commonwealth.
In 2014 the NSWGovernment offered
a free sample home testing program
across 26 local government areas where
it was known that Mr Fluffy provided
home insulation. This program has
been extended until August 2016.
To date, 66 properties in New South
Wales have been positively identified
(57 from historical records and 9 from
sampling), with the bulk of those located
in Queanbeyan.
GOVERNMENT ACTS
ON MR FLUFFY
GE AND BEACON LIGHTING PARTNER ON LEDS
GE Lighting has announced a strategic
partnership with Beacon Lighting to expand
the reach of its LED business in A/NZ.
Beacon, operating under Light Source
Solutions, will be the sole distributor for
GE’s commercial and residential lighting
business, leaving GE to focus on the
development of smart industrial internet
applications for industry and municipalities.
“Beacon is a long-term customer of GE
Lighting and we are proud to be further
investing in that relationship today,” GE
Lighting Australia & NZ country leader
Ian Killick says.
“Beacon has the reach and expertise to
facilitate a rapid transition to LEDs and will
be able to offer our customers localised
service. They are a fantastic team and I look
forward to working with them.”
GE’s LED and conventional lighting
products will be sold through Beacon’s
90+ retail stores and online, as well as be
sold to other retailers and wholesalers.
“GE has an impressive heritage in the
lighting business, reaching back to its
founder Thomas Edison and the invention
of the light bulb,” Beacon Lighting chief
executive Glen Robinson says.
“Today, GE LED technology is
transforming lighting, using up to 80%
less energy and lasting up to five times
longer than traditional lighting. The
technology is continuing to advance,
and we are excited to partner with GE to
bring it to more customers in Australia
and New Zealand.”
At the same time, the GE Lighting
business will increase its focus on the
development of smart lighting applications
and services for roadways, retail
environments, commercial buildings and
industrial facilities. GE Lighting will further
invest in building its industrial internet
capability, using data and analytics to run
lighting systems more efficiently and layer
additional capabilities.