NEMSA partners CPC on electricity consumers’ safety

Nigeria’s new Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation has commenced series of partnerships with relevant bodies in the economy to ensure the safety of consumers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

Specifically, the Chief Inspector said his agency recently sealed a deal with the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on possible ways of ensuring safety of electricity consumers in the country.

With the passage and signing into law of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency Act, 2015, the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) has announced that it has formally commenced the duties of ensuring the efficient production and delivery of safe, reliable and sustainable electricity power supply and guarantee lives and property in the sector.

The 7th National Assembly passed the bill which former President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law on May 26, 2015, the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) took over the functions of inspection, testing and certification of all electrical installation hitherto carried out by the Director of Electrical Inspectorate Services and the Electrical Inspectorate Services Division of the federal Ministry of Power.

Peter Ewesor, an engineer who was the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Electricity Management Services Limited (EMSL), automatically assumed the new role following the conversion of EMSL to the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).

As part of efforts to launch out the agency, the management of NEMSA and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has sealed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to protect consumers and promote safety and quality in the power sector. The agency is also expected to concretize ongoing talks with the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON).

In an interview with The Guardian, Ewesor said the Act empowers NEMSA to carry out the functions of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection, testing and certification of all categories of electrical installations, electricity meters and instruments.

The agency, he noted, is empowered to ensure the efficient production and delivery of safe, reliable and sustainable electricity power supply and guarantee safety of lives and property in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

According to him, NEMSA would: “Carry out electrical inspectorate services for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry; enforce all statutory technical standards and regulations as published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and all other relevant statutory bodies; collaborate with Standards Organization of Nigeria and other relevant government agencies to ensure that all major electrical materials and equipment used in Nigeria are of the right quality and standards; ensure that the power systems and networks put in place have properly executed before use, to ensure that such systems are capable of delivering safe, reliable and sustainable electricity supply to consumers nationwide.”

He went further saying: “NEMSA is empowered also to enforce compliance with technical standards for all electrical installations, electrical plants, including power plants and auxiliary systems, electric networks and connectivity to the grid. This also includes the enforcement of compliance with safety requirements for construction, operation and maintenance of electrical power plants, transmission system, distribution networks and electric installations.”

He explained how the body would regularly monitor the compliance level of the technical regulations, standards and specifications used in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

“We are empowered to carry out or cause to be carried out, investigations of electrical accidents and electrocutions in connection with generation, transmission, distribution, supply or use of electricity with a view to finding out the causes, and enforce remedial measures and proffer or suggest ways of preventing future occurrence.”

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NEMSA, according to the new Act, is also the Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation with powers to carry out the functions of enforcement of technical standards and regulations, through technical inspection, testing and certification of all categories of electrical equipment and installations, electricity meters instruments and other related matters in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Meanwhile, he warned 14 inspectors recently appointed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Company (NERC) to steer clear of the distribution facilities, alleging that private firms would do more harms than good in the industry.

Ewesor, who gave this directive at the signing of the MoU with CPC, warned that no private firm had the authority to do technical inspections on behalf of government.

On the relationship between NEMSA and SON, he stressed: “We are working with SON, because there is no agency of government that has absolute control of making sure everything is done and everything is right. We are collaborating as sister agencies of government to ensure that we all deliver on our own mandates.”

He said his agency had the capacity to conduct inspectorate services, having inherited test stations and technical manpower from government.