96 Nigerians Killed, 74 Injured in Electricity-related Incidents in One Year

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

At least 96 Nigerians were electrocuted while 74 were injured in power-related incidents in 2022, a THISDAY’s compilation of data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for the four quarters of last year has shown.

NERC in the quarterly reports for 2022, stated that the dead and the injured involved electricity customers and officials of some of the electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) nationwide.

In August last year, THISDAY reported that in 21 months, spanning January 2020 and September 2021, at least 156 Nigerians were killed while 87 were injured in similar circumstances.

It is believed that even with the huge number of deaths and injuries, the numbers are still largely underreported as many victims do not make many incidents official.

A breakdown of the casualty figures showed that in the first quarter of 2022, 37 Nigerians died after being electrocuted, 29 persons died in the second quarter, 12 Nigerians were affected in the third quarter while in the fourth quarter, 18 Nigerians lost their lives.

In addition, 74 persons were injured in the period under consideration, distributed as: 18, 24, five and 27 in each of the quarters in the period under consideration.

Although NERC is empowered and actually does sanction Discos when such incidents happen and operators flout its health and safety regulations, victims complain that compensation is usually meagre compared to the lifelong impacts the incidents have on the dead, injured and their loved ones.

NERC had in 2017 directed all the 11 Discos in the country to renew their comprehensive insurance as provided under Part 5 Section 5.2 of the Health and Safety Code for the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), stressing that, “stiffer sanctions await any electricity distribution companies over electrocution or any established case of negligence within their networks.”

It further accused some Discos of placing commercial gains above safety standards and specifications by sheer negligence.

But NERC in the latest report stated that in accordance with section 32(1)(e) of the enabling law, the commission had continued to monitor health and safety performance in the industry to guarantee the delivery of safe and reliable electricity to Nigerians.

The report showed that out of the 87 mandatory health and safety reports expected from licensees in 2022/Q1, the commission received a total of 78, but said that at the time of the report, Sapele and Egbin Power had two outstanding submissions each, while Yola Disco, Agip power, Geregu power, Shell power and Shiroro power each had one outstanding report.

“The commission has developed new processes to track the submission of statutory reports (including the health and safety report) by licensees which will guide the implementation of relevant actions against licensees that do not meet their obligations.

“The health and safety reports were analysed in line with the provisions of Section 32(1)(e) of ESPRA for monitoring and evaluating of health and safety performance of licensees to ensure that operators abide by their responsibility of delivering safe electricity services to consumers,” NERC added.

Of the deaths and injuries, NERC stated that the commission had launched investigations into all the reported incidents with a view to understanding the root causes and meting out relevant actions against the licensees, where applicable.

In line with its strategic goals, the commission said it had intensified efforts at implementing various safety programmes aimed at eliminating accidents in the industry.

“Some of the safety programmes implemented by the commission include the standardisation of protective schemes, public enlightenment on health & safety,” it added.

It also noted that the commission was engaging the relevant government agencies on Right of Way (RoW) violations, and a review of an operational procedure for distribution system operators on fault clearing.

Also in 2022/Q4, NERC said that 85 out of 87 mandatory health and safety reports were received, with Omotosho and Geregu power stations having one outstanding report each at the time.

Out of the 25 incidents reported in the quarter, Eko Disco, NERC said, had the highest number of incidences of five, corresponding to 20 per cent of the total, followed by Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt Discos with four incidences each and corresponding to 16 per cent of the total.

While Ikeja and Yola Disco reported no incident in 2022/Q4, despite recording two incidents in the quarter, Kaduna Disco had the highest number of injuries and deaths —13 and 7 respectively, followed by Eko Disco with three injuries and two deaths.

According to the power industry regulator, other incidents, which could compromise safety in the sector include illegal/unauthorised connections, unsafe work condition/act, wire snap, vandalism, explosion, road accidents and fall from height.

“The commission notes with concern the deterioration in the safety performance of the NESI in 2022/Q4 and consequently initiated investigations into all reported incidents to determine their respective root causes,” NERC added.