NEMSA certifies 10,692 electricity projects as 5,239 others await certification

By Innocent Obasi

The Nigeria Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), a safety enforcement agency, has certified 10,692 electricity projects fit for use after inspecting a total of 15,931 projects across the country in order to mitigate electrical hazards.

This was disclosed recently by Aliyu Tahir, NEMSA’s managing director, in Abuja.

Tahir said the inspection and certification were important to mitigate the hazards associated with the misuse/abuse of electricity, which could have a terrible consequence such as injuries, fatalities, equipment damage, unscheduled downtime.

On the agency’s key role in the Nigeria electricity supply industry, he said it had conducted inspections of over 15,931 electricity projects across the country, out of which 10,692 have been certified fit for use.

“We have monitored 12,114 existing networks and power systems nationwide which is part of the agency’s mandate. Over 3,255 electrical installations at factories, hazardous installations have been inspected by NEMSA.

“There has been a significant increase in the total number of manufacturers of electric concrete poles certified in Nigeria. It has risen from 21 in 2016 to 143 in 2021,” he disclosed.

The NEMSA boss noted that safe, reliable and sustainable electricity supply was important in order to mitigate electrical hazards effectively.

“Mitigating the hazards of electricity to make it safe, reliable and sustainable, led to the development of Technical Standards, Regulations and Codes,” he said.

According to Tahir, developed Technical Standards, Regulations and Codes can only be impactful if effectively enforced, thus the establishment of NEMSA.

The agency boss further  stated that the agency was establishing synergy among staff and between NEMSA and the external stakeholders in line with the agency’s Act.

He said the Act had empowered NEMSA to partner with other relevant government agencies to ensure that all major electrical tools and equipment used in the agency were of the right quality and standard.

He also explained that the singular effort has resulted in a synergy framework that has led NEMSA into vital collaborations with other agencies such as the Federal Fire Service, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, petroleum regulatory agencies and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.