Oscarline Onwuemenyi
12 December 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has commissioned the Assorted ultra-modern power network monitoring equipment it procured worth over N200 million at the company’s G.42 Injection Substation (Taleveras) in the Central Business District area of Abuja.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Managing Director/CEO of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Engr. Ernest Mupwaya noted that one of the major challenge facing the company especially in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is the issue of the underground distribution network.
He added that because of this challenge, the engineers in the company face a lot of challenges in terms of cable vandalization and faults which do take the engineers several hours and even days to fix, and during the course of the repairs, the customers are denied access to electricity over long periods of time.
He also mentioned that with the modern fault locating equipment, faulty portions of underground cables could be pinpointed with maximum accuracy within 30 minutes.
The AEDC Director who put the total value of the investment in the advanced equipment in the region of N200 million, also disclosed that infra-red cameras, computerized applications for real-time data and quality analyzers had also been procured.
Last week, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Management Safety Agency (NEMSA), Engr. Peter Ewesor disclosed that the agency has concluded plans to set up a task force with the mandate of overseeing electrical networks and installations around the country to detect unsafe ones and act as appropriate.
Ewesor, who disclosed this in exclusive interview in Abuja noted with regret the prevalent cases of electrical accidents and electrocutions witnessed around the country in recent times.
Attributing the accidents to aging networks, substandard materials installations among others, Ewesor said, “One of the first things we have done is to strengthen this certification or licensing scheme because it is one of the instruments with which we are to ensure that no person irrespective of whom he is will be allowed to handle electrical installation works in Nigeria without having that certificate.
“In carrying out any installation, you must put your certificate number, your telephone number, state your category among others. And going forward, we are going to set up some taskforces to look at some system we feel are not safe, and ensure that such networks do not get power supply until fixed,” he said.
He also said from 2016 to date, 366 deaths of largely members of the public and some electricity workers have been recorded in 321 electrical accidents, with 86.8% of the fatalities occurring among members of the public and 13.2% happening to electricity workers.
Ewesor noted that agency will not relent in its effort to have electricity networks in the country sanitised for maximum safety of electricity consumers, adding he will defy all distractions to ensure that erring operators are sanctioned appropriately.
“The electrocutions took place across states: towns and villages. Injuries are even on the higher side but we count those ones as survivors who can be compensated. But like I use to say no amount of compensation can be worth one life lost and you cannot bring it back.