Major outlets in Qatar have stopped selling incandescent light bulbs (tungsten) 40 and 60 watts ahead of the ban scheduled to come into effect from November 1.
In an announcement, the Qatar General Organisation for Standards (Qatar Standards) and Metrology at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment reminded traders and importers to comply with the ban.
Besides efforts to conserve energy, the country’s standards body also wants to maintain health and safety of residents and the community in Qatar and raise the quality of electrical products imported for sale in local markets.
The ban, according to Qatar Standards, aims to protect traders’ investments against the poor and adulterated products, which are not complying with technical regulations.
“We immediately pulled out all our stocks after receiving a circular from authorities more than two months ago,” a hypermarket employee who was in charge of the lighting section told Gulf Times yesterday.
He said they only sell energy-efficient halogen, LED bulbs, and similar items which emit less heat and save up to 80% of energy.