Energy Commission to ban uncertified electricians

The Energy Commission from February 25,2015 would ban electricians without wiring certificate from the Commission. It is part of measures to regulate the operations of electrical engineers to uphold professional standards and protect life and property.

"Very soon all electricians would have to be certified by the Energy Commission, go through an exam before you are certified, if you don't have a certificate you cannot parade yourself as such" Victor Owusu, Public Relations Officer(PRO) for Energy Commission said.

All new buildings across the country without wiring certificates will have their power-supply cut off from the national grid.

The commission has in this light instituted a certification scheme for electricians across the country. The PRO, Victor Owusu says electricians who fail to comply with the directive would be prosecuted.

According to Victor Owusu, the initiative is in conjunction with the Fire Service. " We also realise that most of the fire recently was a result of faulty wiring and inferior cables".

Electrical wiring has a lot to do with the safety of persons and property because faulty wiring consequently causes a lot of fire outbreaks among others.

“The Electrical Wiring Regulation 2011 (LI 2008) passed by Parliament in 2012 has three key objectives: Who qualifies to engage in any electrical wiring of properties in Ghana, how wiring is done and the kind of materials used to wire properties in the country” he said.

He explained “To enforce this, the Commission has tied the exercise to service connections. In this regard, if a facility is not wired by a Certified Electrical Wiring Professional (CEWP), who will eventually, issue an Installation Completion Certificate, the facility will not be connected to the national grid by the Electricity Company of Ghana”.