Energy Commission begins enforcement of electrical wiring regulation

The Energy Commission and the Electricity Company of Ghana are teaming up to enforce the Electrical Wiring Regulation which is being piloted in parts of the country.

It is in line with the Electrical Wiring Regulation of 2012, passed as part of measures to curtail frequent fire outbreaks in private and public facilities.

Under the regulation, only certified electrical practitioners will be mandated to wire private and public buildings.

With about 2,500 certified electricians licensed by the Energy Commission since 2012, officials have started disconnecting power supply to buildings which were inappropriately wired.

Nine out of about eighty ECG’s operational districts have been covered in the piloting, with 15 more expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Lead Officer for the Electrical Wiring Program, Solomon Sarpong, tells Luv News enforcement of the policy will be sustained.

“Now we have started the enforcement and the enforcement is that every facility that is not wired by a certified person should not be connected,” he stressed. “Within a transitional period, all facilities wired prior to the enforcement, such facilities will be connected to power only after a certified electrician has assessed the building’s electrical wiring. We have piloted it in nine districts and we are resolving the identified challenges and incorporating them in our next roll out”.

Over 800 candidates who passed Electrical Wiring Certification Examination participated in the 4^th Certificate Award Presentation ceremony in Kumasi.

About 70 per cent of fire disaster and the attendant loss of life and property are attributed to faulty electrical wiring.

Ashanti Regional Safety Officer of the Fire Service, David Afful, is hopeful standard electrical wiring and installation will reduce the risk of fire.

“With this formal training we believe, I am convinced the incidents of fire outbreak would be reduced because the practitioner has knowledge of the dos and don’ts of electrical wiring and installation works. So if workmanship is done the right way, it will reflect in the trend of fire outbreaks in the country,” Mr. Afful told Luv News.

The Energy Commission hopes to have rewired inappropriately wired facilities in the entire nation by the end of 2016.