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.

However, he admitted that he was not sure if 70-watt bulbs, while tagged as energy saver, are included in the ban.

Authorities had banned the import and sale of tungsten 75 and 100 watt light bulbs in the country on May 1.

But the employee noted that in most cases, residents prefer the 23-watt bulb from known brands since its brightness is almost the same with that of a 100-watt bulb.

Like other outlets in Qatar, he stressed that they normally double check each item with authorities if it is on the list of banned products in the market.

“We make sure we comply and follow the Ministry’s directives,” he noted.

This was echoed by another hypermarket staff in Doha saying they had totally removed incandescent light bulbs from their racks ahead of the November 1 deadline.

“We have to follow such orders and we want to be prepared for surprise inspections of authorities to avoid being fined or penalised,” the staff said.

He also cited an increasing number of residents who buy low-wattage (energy saver) light bulbs, as well as electronic devices and appliances, to avoid incurring high electricity charges.

The ban is also in line with Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation’s (Kahramaa) conservation campaign, Tarsheed, aimed at reducing electricity and water use and minimise harmful carbon emission.