The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Authority (NEMSA) has banned the use of wooden electricity poles for installations in the power sector
Managing director of the agency, Peter Ewesor, made this known while briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday.
Ewesor emphasised that the use of fake or sub-standard materials would no longer be tolerated in the electricity industry, adding that there are no quality wooden pole manufacturing company in Nigeria.
He said the agency would before the end of the first quarter 2016, make public pronouncements in this regard and direct all electricity distribution companies (Discos) to comply accordingly and discontinue the use of wooden poles for installations in their various networks.
He said: “Today in Nigeria there’s no factory producing good, well treated wooden poles. We are going to outlaw the use of wooden poles this 2016. It will be one of the first things we are going to do because bad wooden poles have caused a lot of accidents in the power sector.
“We are going to make sure we outlaw that and before the end of first quarter we will publish that appropriately in the media. And we are going to send instructions to all Discos directing the outlaw of wooden poles in their networks,” he said.
While calling for more government support for local electricity meter manufacturers, Ewesor said the agency at its various meter testing centres have encountered and stopped a total of 245 fake meters, made up of 19 “types tests” and 226 “routine tests” from being imported and deployed for use in the country.