The public has been warned against the use of electrical appliances which are sold on the streets without manuals. According to an expert in electrocution and power conservation, market survey has indicated that most of the devices sold to the public especially on the streets are not properly packaged and do not have guideline resulting in inadequate knowledge, of their, use. Users of electrical appliances have therefore, been urged to ensure that extension cables, adapters and other electrical devices are examined by experts to avoid electrocution when being used. A retired Director of VRA and an expert in energy conservation, Mr. Godfred Dua Boateng gave the advice when he put on the market a handbook titled, How to prevent electrocution in your home. He said at the launch of the book at Tema that many of the electrical gadgets did not meet the specifications to prevent electrocution and this had been a concern to people in the profession. Mr Boateng warned that many houses were in danger because they used the gadgets in one way or the other for the supply of power. He said some of the electrical gadgets were built to take a certain amount of power but they had been connected to extension boards, which had adapters which exposed their users to danger. Mr Boateng said most electrical wirings in the country were defective because there were no systems put in place to check, maintain or service them should there be problems. He pleaded with the public to engage experts to give them advice on how to manage electricity. Mr Boateng said people got electrocuted most of the time through wrong connection of domestic appliances, wrong wirings of their premises including poor earthing and use of inferior devices. He said in other cases, electrocution was caused by ignorance and circumstances beyond the control of victims. The 30-page handbook gave an insight to how to service electrical appliances and what to do in times of danger when handling electrical devices to ensure their safety. Some of the defects discussed in the booklet exposed the dangers that loose contacts with faulty gadgets could cause to their users, and that fridges, air conditioners and overloaded motors could result in fire outbreaks. "The first copy of the booklet, which was launched by Mr Nick Opoku, a Board Member of the Accra Technical Training Centre, went for GH¢500. The Customer Realations Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Dr Smart Yeboah, placed an order for 10,000 copies of the booklet, which he described as very useful to the company and its customers. He appealed, to the public to patronise the book and do what was right to conserve energy and avoid being electrocuted. Source: Daily Graphic