Statutory Duties/Functions
The Electrical Inspectorate Service Department of the Ministry was established by an Act of Parliament in 1954. It had its legal instrument of Operation in the Electricity Act chapter 57 (Cap 57) which later became Cap 106 of 1990 and revised and gazetted in 1996. The department is vested with the following statutory duties and responsibilities of ensuring safety of lives and property and security of supply in the electricity industry:
- The inspection, testing and certification of all electric power transmission lines and distribution networks Nationwide and Independent Power Producers Projects:
- The inspection, testing and certification of Large consumers electrical installations such as large and high rise commercial buildings, Industries/Factories premises, breweries etc;
- The inspection, testing and certification of Completed rural electrification projects consisting of primary injection substations, 33kV sub-transmission lines and 33/11kV distribution networks:
- The licensing of privately owned generating sets which are outside the capacity limit of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) i.e 1MW and below:
- The issuance of electrical installation licenses to competent and qualified electrical contractors:
- The investigation of electrical accidents and electrocution for safety of lives and property, with a view to finding out the causes and ways of preventing future occurrences in line with the provisions of the Regulation:
- Revenue generation for Government:
- The inspection, testing and certification of electric concrete poles for use in the electricity industry:
In addition to these statutory duties, the Department
- Coordinates the implementation of the Japanese grant-in-aid for rural electrification in Nigeria:
- oversees the activities of the Rural Electrification Agency: –comments of Director, EIS needed on the matter based on reaction from REA
- Coordinates all issues relating to Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency:
- Coordinates the implementation of small and medium hydropower projects:
To carry out these functions the Ministry established 15 Area offices throughout the Country located at Abeokuta, Akure, Ibadan, Lagos, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Yola, Abuja, Ilorin, Jos, Benin and Port Harcourt
Achievements
The Electrical Inspectorate Services achieved the followings:
Main Statutory duties
- A total of 650 electrical installations including generation, transmission and distribution power projects were inspected and tested out of which 450 were certified for use:
- A total of 790 electrical installation licences were issued from January to date:
- The department through its Area offices generated a total revenue of nineteen million two hundred and seventy one thousand seven hundred and eighty two naira ( N19, 271, 782.00) from January 2011:
- A total of 50 electrical accidents/electrocutions were reported of which a total of 36 have been investigated from January 2011 to date:
Japanese grant-in-aid rural electrification project
The project involves electrification of selected rural communities located in difficult terrain and/or inaccessible to the national grid.
- Electrification of Eburutu communities (MAP 1 & II) in Cross-rivers State completed except map III where there was communal conflict:
- Ibedu Ibiaikot communities’ rural electrification in Akwa Ibom State completed and energized.
Present Efforts in Renewable Energy
Due to the need to diversify energy mix, in view of the present monopolistic type of fuelling and imbalance in the location of the existing power stations, the use of renewable energy is encouraged to provide alternative sources of power generation especially in the rural areas. To this end, the Ministry is coordinating an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.
Solar Projects
- The Ministry has completed the solar power pilot projects in Ogun and in Cross Rivers State:
Waste-to-Power
- The Ministry is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Environment to work on the Waste-to-Power Project and other RE projects:
Small and Medium Hydro Power Plant
- The Department had carried out consultancy studies and engineering designs of 13 identified dams for power generation so as to produce bankable documents which will make them executable. The ten (10) executable dams out of the identified ones are ready/awaiting concessioning: These are:
- 10MW Oyan Dam in Ogun State, 6MW Ikere Gorge in Oyo State, 3MW Bakolori Dam in Zamfara, 7.5MW Challawa Dam in Kano, 10MW Tiga Dam in Kano, 500KW Kampe Dam in Kogi State, 450KW Owena Dam in Ondo State, IMW Doma Dam in Nasarawa State, 300KW Zobe Dam in Katsina State and 4MW Jibia Dam in Katsina State.
- The Ministry is liaising with Infrastructure Concessioning
- Regulatory Commission (ICRC) on the Concessioning of the dams for PPP:
- The Ministry is collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources on the concessioning of the Power components of all dams in Nigeria:
- Construction of 1.2MW hydropower plant at Amoke in Benue State. Selection of contractor is ongoing as a tripartite project by the Ministry of Power who is to provide the civil works, while Benue State Government will handle all environmental issues and UNIDO to provide the turbines.
- The Federal Ministry of Water Resources is constructing a multi-purpose dam in Kashimbila, Taraba State with a 40MW power component. The Ministry is involved in the project component of the project being funded by Federal Ministry of Water Resources. The Ministry will handle the power evacuation through Transmission Company of Nigeria. (TCN)
- The Ministry is also involved in the implementation of Gurara Phase I & II being handled by Federal Ministry of Water Resources:
- The Ministry on behalf of the Federal Government had signed an MoU with the Nordic Countries on cooperation & development of energy sector in Nigeria in particular renewable energy:
The Federal Government signed a Financial Agreement of Euro700,000 with the German KfW for Hydropower studies under the auspices of National Energy Council.