By Uche Aneke
Recently, the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) organized a round table for the executive, legislature, judiciary and other stakeholders in Lagos in the power sector to sensitize them on the Enforcement of Technical Standards, Regulations and Mandate of NEMSA in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and other workplaces in Nigeria.
The round table was part of NEMSA’s effort to continue to actualize its mandate in the electricity value chain through continuous sensitization, to improve the awareness of all stakeholders, particularly the key actors.
In his opening remarks at the event, the Minister of State for Power, Dr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, praised the initiative by NEMSA, stating that such an activity would necessarily create awareness on the importance of the mandate/functions of NEMSA and ensure that electrical safety requirements are always maintained in NESI, homes, offices, etcetera.
Lending his voice, the managing director of NEMSA, Engr. Aliyu Tukur, said the meeting provided the opportunity for robust discussions and engagement that would play an important role in enhancing the effective delivery of the agency’s mandate.
The round table was just one of the series of strategic steps taken by Tukur to consolidate on the gains of NEMSA before his assumption of office on January 26, 2022, following the exit of the former managing director of the agency, Engr. Peter Ewesor, who completed his second and final tenure in office on the last day of September 2021.
As a strategic planner, soon after his assumption of office, he carried out a baseline assessment of situations in the agency for proper realignment/repositioning to ensure that all activities of the agency continuously add value to the electricity value chain.
In furtherance of NEMSA’s key role of technical inspection and certification in NESI and to improve power supply nationwide, the agency’s helmsman issued a directive to owners of power utility firms to increase their maintenance schedules for power plants, transmission and distribution stations. This directive was based on his conviction that, if the necessary maintenance work and quality upgrades were sustained by owners of electrical utility companies, power supply would improve in the country. NEMSA has also shown zero tolerance for substandard practices in the electricity industry by taking steps to strengthen and expand its core mandate of monitoring and certification of all electrical installations in NESI as well as insisting that all electrical installations must meet the statutory requirements before certification.
In line with this, a task force on monitoring of transmission and distribution interface of existing electricity network has been inaugurated by NEMSA. Part of the terms of reference of the task force is to identify the challenges at the interface points between transmission and electricity distribution networks nationwide. More importantly, the task force is also to make recommendations to the utility companies and NEMSA MD/CEO on the implementation solutions to address the challenges that would guarantee safe, reliable and sustainable electricity power supply.
Already, in carrying out these duties, NEMSA has made appreciable progress. There is now insistence on meter testing at all levels in NESI before distribution and allocation to customers. NEMSA has inspected over 15,931 electricity projects in the country, out of which 10,692 have been certified fit by the agency for use. It has also monitored 12,114 networks and power systems nationwide and at the same time inspected over 3,255 electrical installations at factories and hazardous installations. These efforts are to ensure that electrical installations meet established standards, reduce the dangers associated with the use of substandard electrical installations and reduce economic wastages and guarantee safety of lives and property.
In doing so, NEMSA is building synergy among staff and between the agency and the external stakeholders in accordance with the NEMSA Act, 2015, Part 2, Section 6(b), which empowers NEMSA to collaborate with other relevant government agencies to ensure that all major electrical materials and equipment used in NESI are of the right quality and standards. This singular effort has resulted in a synergy framework that has led NEMSA into vital collaboration with such agencies like the Federal Fire Service, Nigeria Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
A few weeks ago, the agency recorded a feat by inaugurating the first of its kind, a Meter Generation Museum/Gallery in Oshodi, Lagos, that archives all the generations of energy meters ever used or deployed in NESI. The importance of the establishment of the museum in NESI cannot be over-emphasized, as it will provide information and data to industry players, tourists, researchers of the industry and the academia. There are plans by the agency to replicate this feat in all the geo-political zones of the country.
Given all these outstanding achievements, it is glaring that NEMSA is on a rescue mission of transforming the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry into a safe, stable and reliable power supply entity, worthy of commendation by key actors in the electricity industry and Nigerians at large.
•Aneke, general manager, public affairs, NEMSA; [email protected], 08033481569