Audit wiring systems of commercial buildings - Energy Commission urges operators
The Energy Commission (EC) has asked operators of all commercial facilities in the country to audit their wiring systems before the end of this year.
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The facilities, which included hotels, restaurants, shopping malls as well as offices that had been in existence for the past 10 years, are expected to undergo re-examination in accordance with the enforcement of the Electrical Wiring Regulations, 2012 (LI 2008), that began last year.
A representative of the commission, Mr Robert Yeboah, who revealed this to the GRAPHIC BUSINESS on the sidelines of a workshop in Accra, said the examination of these facilities would help detect improper wiring and expired ones in order to curtail the electric-related incidence in the country.
He said failure of the operators to comply with the directive would result in the termination of power supply to their facility.
He urged the public to engage the services of only electricians who had undergone the Electrical Wiring Certificate Examination of the EC and had been formally certified to operate in the country, saying the commission has certified about 3,000 electricians in the country to provide professional services to contractees.
The examination is part of the commission’s effort to protect lives and properties by ensuring that electricians avoid shoddy electrical wiring that may cause fire outbreaks under the enforcement of the new law.
Electrical wiring regulations
The objective of the law is in threefold.
First, it is to ensure that those who qualify to undertake electrical wiring in the country are issued with certificate by the commission.
Second, it is to regulate electrical wiring services by ensuring that practitioners abide by a standard code of wiring.
Third, the law is to ensure that materials used for electrical wiring conform to Ghana standards and, thereby, eliminate the use of inferior materials.
Offenders of the law will be liable to a fine of 250 penalty units equivalent to GH¢6,000 or two years’ imprisonment or both.
Government urged to support the audit
An electrical engineer, Mr Appiagyei Kwame Tortor, who is also a resource person with the Tropical Cable and Conductors Limited, for his part, said it was a laudable idea.
But it was crucial for the government to defray about 50 per cent of the cost involved in the auditing for domestic facilities to also partake in the exercise.
Mr Tortor said it was crucial for the state to ensure that all facilities were well wired with quality cables that could stand the test of time by certified personnel.
“I will also urge the government to direct the rewiring of all public and domestic premises that have lasted for about 50 years but the government must at least bear 50 per cent of the cost,” he said.
The United Kingdom (UK) and the United State of America (USA) recently ordered the rewiring of every building; they bore half the cost.
According to him, the government defraying about 50 per cent of the cost would help reduce the wasting of electricity power through faulty cables in the country.
“If all houses are well wired with quality cables that could stand the test of time, the state will be able to save the amount of money it invests in boosting the power sector in Ghana,” he added.
He urged the government to rather employ measures to reduce the waste in the industry rather than associating all the challenges in the power sector to generation.
Sensitisation seminar
Indigenous manufacturer of electrical cables and conductors, the Tropical Cable & Conductor Limited (TCCL), organised a day’s seminar to educate stakeholders on various best practices in wiring and cable selection to help curtail the electricity related incidence in the country.
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The campaign also covers inspection and testing of electrical works which enable clients and contractees to be certain that service rendered to them is of quality.
The Marketing and Business Development Manager, TCCL, Mr Kwame Oteng-Gyasi, said the seminar was part of TCCL’s strategy to sensitise the public to the proper use of electrical cables and the dangers associated with using inferior ones.
About 300 participants, including representatives from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), the Energy Commission, and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), attended the one-day seminar.