Residential, commercial and industrial property owners and users may face stringent guidelines as the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) move to enforce electrical safety compliance and insurance policy.
The development, aimed at enhancing safety is coming at a time fire incidents, some of which are associated with electrical issues are destroying lives and properties.
The two agency, through a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Abuja at the weekend established a collaborative framework to ensure as a pre-condition all electrical installations in residential, commercial, industrial premises, hazardous locations, industries and factories are duly certified by NEMSA, before Insurance Policy is processed by insurance companies.
While the real estate and construction industry is rising in Nigeria with total market size estimated at about $130 billion by the International Trade Association in 2023, most property are not insured.
Insisting the need to stren-gthen the reliability and safety of Nigeria’s electricity sector, Managing Director of NEMSA, Aliyu Tukur Tahir, emphasised the importance of inter-agency collaboration to address risks associated with electrical accidents and infrastructure failures.
Tahir described the development as a move to ensuring that all electricity consumers, operators, and investors adhere to the highest safety and risk management standards.
“By integrating insurance compliance into electrical safety enforcement, we are safeguarding lives, investments, and the overall integrity of the power sector,” he stated.
Tukur, who is also the Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation said that going forward it would be a requirement by NEMSA that all facility applicants of its statutory inspection, testing and certification, should ensure that their facilities are insured with insurance companies, for safety and mitigation of risk.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM, Olusegun Ayo Omosehin said all power sector players must embrace insurance as a critical risk management tool.
“Insurance plays a crucial role in cushioning the effects of electrical hazards and infrastructure-related incidents. Through this MoU, we will work closely with NEMSA to enforce compliance with relevant insurance policies, ensuring that the power sector operates with adequate risk mitigation mechanisms in place,” he said.
The collaboration will involve joint awareness campaigns, regulatory enforcement, and information-sharing initiatives to promote electrical safety and insurance adoption across the power sector.
