Security secretary assures training against EV fire

Safety devices are a must in EV charging docks and the roadmaps of cables have specific requirements, Cheong Ioc Ieng, chief of the Office of the Secretary for Security, has emphasized in response to lawmaker Lo Choi In’s written inquiry.

Citing the Fire Services Bureau (CB), Cheong said that pursuant to relevant laws and regulations, electric devices should be designed and installed so they will not cause or spread fire.

Emergency switches must be installed on these devices, so that during a fire, power will be disconnected. Wires and cables should not pass through fire buffer zones or emergency stairwells, Cheong added.

Cheong also said the CB has compiled rescue guidelines based on popular EVs on the market. Regular training includes rescue procedures to improve effectiveness and efficiency.

On battery-changing facilities at public parking areas, Cheong cited two other regulations to confirm that the installation of such facilities must be subject to advanced approval from competant authorities. The CB, meanwhile, is open to technical meetings should any issues or problems arise during the installation project, Cheong added.

Campaigns on fire safety have regularly been run on social media platforms and conventional media, Cheong said.

In another reply to lawmaker Ron Lam’s inquiry on fuel for transport use, the Consumer Council of Macao cited the Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) in disclosing that two landplots on New Urban Zone A had already been assigned for the use of refuelling facilities.

It was further disclosed that landplots in Zone A have been reserved for the installation or use of critical commodities such as drainage and electricity. In spite of this, the bureau could not publish a timetable for the opening of the tender for the aforementioned refueling stations in the zone.

On the initiation of a legal mechanism to investigate the structure of commodity prices – in this case, of fuel – both vertically and horizontally, the Council did not clearly state if it had triggered the mechanism.

Lam has long demanded the Council use the mechanism because it is empowered by law to do so.

Instead, the Council said that “the initiation of the mechanism is rigorous and requires comprehensive analysis on the actual conditions of each industry. When the legal premise is met, this Council will initiate the mechanism in compliance with actual situations and corresponding legal procedures, including with regard to the opinions from the Consumer Consultation Council.”