Practitioners urged to uphold standards in electrical wiring
The Registrar of the Engineering Council, Ing. Isaac Bedu, has called on certified electrical wiring practitioners to attach the highest sense of professionalism and accountability to their work to reduce electrical fires and safeguard lives and property.
He said adherence to the Electrical Wiring Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 2008), was critical in ensuring public safety, emphasising that “one mistake by an engineering professional can wipe out a whole community or family.”
Ing. Bedu was speaking at the 23rd Electrical Wiring Certification and Awards Ceremony organised by the Energy Commission (EC) in Accra yesterday (Tuesday, September 23) on the theme: “Empowering certified practitioners: securing L.I. 2008 through professional authentication.”
Accountability and licensing
Ing. Bedu reminded the 339 graduates that they would be held accountable for every installation they undertook, in line with both L.I. 2008 and the Engineering Council Regulation, 2020 (L.I. 2410).
“Our profession costs lives if we make mistakes, and so you must not underestimate its importance,” he cautioned.
He urged them to obtain the requisite licence from the Engineering Council by registering with either the Ghana Institution of Engineering or the Institution of Engineering and Technology to gain professional recognition and credibility.
“Becoming licensed is not just a formality; it offers you public trust and membership of a community that values excellence, ethics, and accountability,” he said.
Graduates
The Chairperson of the ceremony, Prof. John Gartchie Gatsi, who is also the Board Chairman of the EC, urged the graduates to serve as ambassadors of professionalism to report substandard electrical wiring materials in the marketplace.
He also urged the graduates to practise the profession to promote socio-economic well-being, and be conscious of the environment, adding that they should ensure public safety.
Prof. Gatsi said only 233 females had been certified over the past 12 years, representing 1.3 per cent of more than 17,000 practitioners, and encouraged more women to pursue certification in electrical wiring.
He further announced plans to review the training curriculum to include customer relations and care, while ensuring continuous professional development through mandatory refresher training before licence renewal.
An assistant manager at the EC, Stephen N-ebe Yomoh, said the commission had achieved several milestones under the programme, including the conduct of 23 certification examinations, the issuance of more than 18,000 certificates, and the certification of over 100 female electricians.
Other achievements, he said, were the revision of the Ghana Electrical Wiring Standards, the successful deployment of the paperless Installation Completion Certificate App (ICCAPP), and updates to the Certified Electrician Ghana Mobile App.
Additionally, the commission, he said, had reintroduced the mandatory use of Residual Current Devices (RCDs) and earth inspection chambers, while beginning enforcement of the Electrical Wiring Cables and Accessories Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2478).
Challenges
Despite progress, Mr Yomoh said the commission faced challenges such as uncertified electricians offering cheap but substandard services, particularly in rural communities, and non-compliance with mandatory inspections for facilities wired more than 10 years ago.
Statistics
Out of 1,163 practitioners who registered for the May–June 2025 examinations nationwide, 944 passed, representing an 81.17 per cent success rate, which brought the total number of certified electrical wiring professionals and inspectors to 18,435, with 183 being females.
