Imperatives of testing electricity equipment for efficient power supply

ELECTRICAL devices have virtually emerged the essential tools in everyday living.  Testing these devices periodically has therefore become imperative, to ensure their effectiveness and safety for users.  In any electrical facility, be it commercial or domestic, the most important issue is safety. 

 Decades of substandard electrical equipment being used in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), combined with vandalism, substandard construction practice, and poor maintenance of power installations across the value chain of generation, transmission and distribution, including utilisation, have plagued the development of the sector in the country.

  This has been attributed to lack of effective enforcement of technical standards, testing and certification of electrical installations in the NESI, which necessitated the Federal Government establishing an independent, professional and technical agency, Electricity Management Services Limited (EMSL), to deal with the technical lapses in the industry.

  The Chairman of the Committee, Patrick Ikhariale, who spoke during the committee’s visit to the remodelled National Meter Test Station and the Technical Inspectorate Service Field Office in Lagos, as part of its oversight function, urged the management of EMSL to ensure that the firm’s services meet international best standard and also embark on regular research in view of the continuous evolving technology. The meter test station is part of the unit and services under the newly created EMSL.  

  Ikhariale  described EMSL as a centre that was set up to test and ensure that meters deployed to our various homes and offices meet the best standards globally. “Meter is a fundamental asset of electricity distribution, to that extent, the committee and the National Assembly ensures that this agency addresses the shortcomings in that area. We are satisfied with the nature of the equipment we have seen here including the calibre of men and women trained to do the job. The meters you see here are comparable to what you can see anywhere in the world and that is the essence of having them in place. 

  “Beyond that is the fact that they do routine check of any meter that is coming into the market whether local or outside to ensure the meters meet the standards they are expected to have. The gains cannot be over emphasized. We have had issues of transformers catching fire or getting burnt as a result of faulty meters. It was such nasty experiences or occurrences that actually contributed greatly to our being very supportive of this agency, so that the colossal losses that are often suffered in both human and material whenever it happens if not eliminated completely, should be reduced drastically to the barest minimum.