Fashola lauds stakeholders over safety compliance in the power sector

LAGOS, Nigeria – Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola on Friday commended stakeholders in the power sector for coming together to drive safety compliance geared towards suitability of the industry.

Fashola gave the commendation at the official commissioning of the upgraded Chemical and Engineering Laborator by the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) in Lagos. According to him,  he is gratified by the presence of many stakeholders within the value chain, ensuring a all round safety which is important to the industry.

“This is now an ungraded and properly fitted laboratory to help the agency in enforcing compliance in the power sector. This will also make them do the jobs effectively now that they have tools. We hope there will be improvement in all the operators’ compliance conducts. This laboratory will help to enforce compliance in the power sector in area of power equipments certification and standardlisation. It will also translate to better service delivery,’’ he said.

The minister said that the Meter Assets Provider initiative policy was gradually coming to conclusion. Fashola said  about 180 companies had applied and had gone through the process of been certified  by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

“We have a policy on MAP which allow new business to enter metering areas. The licensed providers are critical stakeholders in the value chain of the power supply. This will relive the pressure and emphasised relive in terms of pressure on the  finances of the DISCOs  to supply meters. He, however, said that did not discharge them of their contractual obligation they had to do.

“We know there are challenges in financing, we think that we can open up the business for new operators to come in. The policy is now playing out, and the distance in transition through policy and impact, we see as we go on as the supply of meter begins to tickles down, of course the major economy under it,’’ Fashola added.

In his remarks, Mr Peter  Ewesor, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), said the newly completed  re-modelling of laboratory situated in Ijora would help to curb substandard equipments  in the power sector. Ewesor said that this is a specialised analytical laboratory for inspection, sampling, test and analysis services for transformer insulating oils and lubricating oils.

Others include greases of various grades, turbine oil, hydraulic oil  used in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and other Allied industries as well as potable and effluent water resources. He said that NEMSA would ensure the quality checks in line with its mandate of ensuring safety and compliance to standards.   

According to him, today’s event is a major milestone for NEMSA in the enhancement of its functions and mandate at enforcing technical standards and regulations as they relate to electrical materials, power equipment and industry- related chemicals. This, he noted, would be achieved by providing quality chemical and engineering tests and analytical services to the generation, transmission and distribution companies, hydro power stations and other related companies in NESI and the nation at large.

“This laboratory has been operating as a reference quality control laboratory for the entire power industry since the era of the defunct NEPA and PHCN, and now in the post-privatisation era when NEMSA took it over in a dilapidated state in 2014. NEMSA, in realisation of its key role in furthering its mandate as enshrined in NEMSA Act-2015, embarked on the upgrading and remodelling of its chemical and engineering laboratory Ijora- Olopa, Lagos to provide accurate tests and analyses,” he said.

He also said that the laboratory equipped with a wide range of world class test equipment, instruments, and devices which include dissolved Gas Analyser (DGA) a diagnostic equipment. This, he added the equipment for detecting, identifying and evaluating incipient faults occurring within transformers and reactors; Dielectric Strength Tester – to determine the insulation levels such as Kinematic Viscometers which determines oil viscosity.

Ewesor lauded  President Muhammadu Buhari, for his unrelenting effort in quality leadership towards infrastructural development nationwide.He also commended the Vice- President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo,  for his encouragement of policy innovations particularly with ease of doing business of this administration that has impacted positively on our operations.