Energy Commission Certifies 6,000 Electricians

About 6,000 electricians and wiring inspectors across the country have been certified by the Energy Commission to undertake proper electrical wiring and installations in line with safety standards.

They were trained and tested under the Electrical Wiring Certification Programme which was introduced about five years ago to ensure that licensed electricians used standard and quality materials for wiring.

The programme is under the Electrical Wiring Regulation 2011 (LI) 2008, which enjoins every electrician to undertake a written examination conducted by the Energy Commission to assess their competencies in the field of work.

Identity

The Director of Enforcement and Inspectorate, Mr Tony Bleboo, who made this known at the 9th Electrical Wiring Certificate Award presentation ceremony in Accra, said domestic, commercial and industrial electricians as well as inspectors had been certified.

The ninth graduation involving 948 electricians and inspectors were certified after they had been trained and passed the November/December 2017 Electrical Wiring Certification Examination.

Mr Bleboo said the Electrical Wiring Regulation enjoined facility owners to engage the services of only certified electricians and certified electrical materials for wiring installations.

He said the law also sought to protect life and property by ensuring that electricians avoided shoddy electrical wiring to avoid fire outbreaks.

He said the Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals (CEWPs) would be identified with stamps with their codes and unique names on them, aside their certificates.

Renewing licence

To ensure that the public adhered to the regulations, Mr Bleboo explained that the distribution utility companies such as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) met the fundamental requirements of the law.

“It is in the utmost interest of the distribution utilities to only initiate service connection processes after a facility has been declared safe by a certified electrical wiring inspector,” he advised.

The risk

The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Dr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, charged building contractors and home owners to engage the services of only certified electricians.

He said one of the biggest risks of engaging uncertified electricians and substandard electrical materials was fire outbreaks, which resulted in property damage, injury and even death.

To identify certified electrician and inspectors, he explained that they were given stamps with their names and unique numbers on them, therefore, the distribution companies, must look out for those identities on the metre application form before hooking a facility unto the network.

He further urged the electricians to insist on using standard materials for their work even when the facility owners suggest otherwise to avoid jeopardising their credibility.

A representative from the Ministry of Energy, Mr Solomon Adjetey commended the commission for their consistency in training the professionals.

With the certificates, he said, the outputs of the electricians were expected to improve in order to achieve the objective of the training.

Background

To qualify for the Electrical Wiring Examination, a person must have been an apprentice or have gone through formal education and practical training.

The certification process comes in three stages: the written examination, practical, and interview sessions. The certificates are subject to renewals every five years.

Source: Graphic Online