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NEMA Video Shows How Counterfeits Can Kill

NEMA Reaches Out to Raise Awareness of the Electrical Safety Hazards Associated with Counterfeit Electrical Products

To raise awareness of the electrical safety hazards associated with counterfeit electrical products, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), in collaboration with the Electrical Safety Foundation International, released a video presentation titled “Counterfeits Can Kill,” which can be viewed on NEMA’s website. The video features interviews with former Schneider Electric/Square D CEO David Petratis, Graybar Electric CEO Robert Reynolds, and Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas, each of whom outlines specific action items for manufacturers, distributors, electricians and government officials who have a role in combating the threat posed by counterfeits in the electrical supply chain.

NEMA has reached out to everyone in the greater supply channel to discuss this issue, not just those persons and companies in the stream of commerce, but also to public officials who may have a role to detect the presence of counterfeits in commerce such as Customs and Border Protection, fire officials and electrical inspectors.

“Admittedly, it is not easy to detect counterfeits in some cases because, at least on the exterior, the fakes can look just like the genuine product,” said NEMA General Counsel Clark Silcox. NEMA meets periodically with import specialists and port officials at various ports of entry around the United States to share what its members know about differences between genuine and counterfeit electrical products. “Those differences frequently highlight that the less visible features of an electrical product including its internal design, are different from genuine products and are substandard, which presents significant safety issues for property and persons,” Silcox continued.

The NEMA video documents these safety issues, showing counterfeit cords and appliances that have burst into flames, and counterfeit circuit breakers that have caused explosions in panel boards. NEMA hopes that by engaging with fire officials, electrical inspectors and building code officials that the evaluation of a suspicious installation or incident will consider the possibility that a counterfeit was the culprit.

Undersecretary Dudas highlighted the importance of incorporating authentication technologies into products that will help both government officials and the marketplace identify genuine products. “Several NEMA companies are looking at this,” said Silcox, “but there are challenges because there is no one size fits all products solution.” He said an authentication technology that might be feasible for a larger industrial circuit breaker is not necessarily feasible for a smaller residential circuit breaker. Silcox added that Underwriters Laboratories has recently announced significant changes to its hologram label for cordsets, power supply cords, extension cords, luminaires, power supplies, adapters, relocatable power taps, nightlights and fans, which everyone should become familiar with. CSA is also updating its authentication technology as well.

The counterfeiting problem in the electrical supply channel has been growing in recent years. NEMA said that most of the counterfeit electrical product that has been seized is made in China. “There is no one place to fight this problem,” said Silcox. Schneider’s Petratis and Graybar’s Reynolds both emphasize that battling counterfeits is everyone’s problem to address. Manufacturers must address the problem at the source if they can find the source, and some NEMA members have had some success at this according to NEMA. One NEMA battery manufacturer who had helped train Chinese Customs officials about counterfeits recently saw China Customs seize 1.6 million units of counterfeit batteries. Other manufacturers have shut down some factories. Distributors and electrical contractors have a role to play too by ensuring that they know they are buying genuine product and not inadvertently introducing substandard counterfeit product into the marketplace. In the NEMA video, Graybar’s Reynolds identifies the anonymous Internet offer as a source the supply chain should recoil from engaging, particularly if the deal is too good to be true.