By Constance Athekame
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Sulaiman Gumi, says public education is essential in ensuring the safety of electricity consumers in the country.
Gumi, a former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Safety, Standards and Regulations, said this at the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Safety Conference 2024 in Abuja on Friday.
He was the chairman of the conference organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Safety Standard and Regulations, and the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA) and other stakeholders in NESI.
He said that NESI should ensure that electricity consumers are educated on safety tips to guide them on their day to day interaction with power infrastructure.
“Let me also emphasise the importance of public safety education. The general public interacts with the infrastructure daily, from power lines to transformers.
“ A well-informed population is a safer population. We must increase our effort on safety education.
“We must raise public awareness about electricity safety in homes, businesses, and on the streets so that every Nigerian understands how to stay safe around electricity, ‘’ he said.
Gumi also said that there was the need for stakeholders in the power industry to prioritise robust regulatory compliance, and quality control measures through centralised training programmes.
According to him, taking effective measures to prevent theft and extortion and comprehensive monitoring of installation personnel was important in ensuring a safer power industry.
He said that rigorous testing of products and prosecution of those who are in danger and monitoring of power infrastructure, was also necessary for the growth of the power industry.
“ We have the resources, the expertise, and the collective will to make safety our number one priority.
“By working together, industry leaders, regulators, engineers, and safety experts can build a future where Nigeria’s electricity and power sector is not only efficient and sustainable, but also one of the safest.
“The success of this industry depends not only on the power production, but also on the safety of those who produce it, ‘’ he said.
In an address, Prof. Elizabeth, Onukwa, Federal University Technology (FUT), Minna, said that the conference was expected to reflect stakeholders’ collective responsibility to develop comprehensive solutions, inclusive and actionable to move the power sector forward.
Onukwa urged participants to develop a policy document that could enhance the oversight, and investigative responsibilities of the committee on safety standards and regulations.
She also urged the stakeholders on compliance and enforcement strategies to prevent vandalism and theft.
The Academic said a collective action against substandard materials and quackery, was essential in addressing challenges in the renewable energy systems and climate initiatives for the growth of the power sector.
On his part, Mr Princewill Okorie, National President, APPA, said that regulations in the electricity sector were a national challenge which must be tackled through the collective efforts of all stakeholders.
He said that the theme’’ of the conference identifying opportunities, prospects and challenges of safety standards and regulations in Nigeria’s Power Sector for prevention of electricity accidents, fire outbreak, loss of life and property was apt.
“This shows that our primary objective, these two days will be to identify how to harness the opportunities existing in the safety standards and regulatory aspects of electricity,
“In this process, we shall identify existing challenges inhibiting effective compliance and enforcement of safety standards and regulatory policies of the electricity sector, ‘’ he said.
Okorie said the decision reached at the workshop would support the effort of the committee to initiate legislative programmes to strengthen the enforcement of the safety standards and regulatory policies in the sector.
He commended the decision of the committee for partnering with APPA in organising the conference.