NIGERIA: USTDA SPONSORED ELECTRICITY HEALTH AND SAFETY

UNCLAS ABUJA 001072 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO USTDA-PAUL MARIN, EXIM-JRICHTER DEPT PASS TO USTR-AGAMA DEPT PASS TO USAID AFR/SD FOR CURTIS, ATWOOD, AND SCHLAGENHAUF BAGHDAD FOR MCCULLOUGH TREASURY FOR PETERS, IERONIMO, AND HALL DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS AND 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/CREED E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: ENRG EPET ECON EINV EAID PGOV NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: USTDA SPONSORED ELECTRICITY HEALTH AND SAFETY REGULATION LAUNCHED REF: ABUJA 291 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY ¶1. (SBU) Summary. On May 28, the Ministry of Power held a mandatory meeting of the electricity sector to disseminate the Nigerian Electricity Health and Safety Standards Manual and to declare that the industry is now accountable to the standards and that infractions will be punishable by law. This manual was funded by a U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) 2007 grant in the amount of $507,000. Minister of State for Power Nuhu Wya and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Administrator Imamuddeen Talba thanked both USTDA and the Mission for the manual and continued partnership in bringing adequate and affordable power to Nigerians. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Minister of State for Power Nuhu Wya and NERC Administrator Imamuddeen Talba led a power industry meeting on May 28 to present and distribute the Nigerian Electricity Health and Safety Standards Manual and to declare that the industry is now accountable to the standards. In his speech Wya said that the power sector will now operate under new international standards that will guarantee the safety of workers and members of the public. He underscored that industry participants must comply with the manual or be prosecuted. Talba added that NERC confirmed 23 deaths in 2007 and 42 deaths in 2008 from electrocution with a large percentage attributed to the State distribution companies. The USTDA technical assistance program provided a train-the-trainer program and these trainers will lead a nationwide training program which launched on June 1, 2009. ¶3. (SBU) The manual was developed as a part of a $507.000 - USTDA grant to develop industry-specific health and safety standards for Nigeria's electricity sector. Wya and Talba thanked both USTDA and the Mission for the manual. A hard copy of the 350 page manual, as well as an electronic copy, was issued in tandem by Wya and Talbert to the head of the transmission company, generating companies (private and public),distribution companies, representatives of the labor, health, justice, and petroleum ministries, the Nigeria Gas Company, the Independent Power Producer Association of Nigeria (IPPAN),Nigerian Police Force, National Insurance Commission, Federal Fire Service, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. ¶4. (SBU) The standards focus on all electrical and non-electrical workers performing work by electricity entities involved in the generation, transmission or distribution of power in Nigeria. A review of numerous industry reports supported that fatalities occurred which could have been prevented by the use of recognized electricity industry safety systems in the workplace. The power sector is expected to double by 2010 and double output again by ¶2012. Currently the sector employs approximately 34,000 people. The country itself has a population of almost 150 million, with less than 40 per cent of the population with access to electricity. ¶5. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS