As part of its efforts to ensure zero fatality in the power sector, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company(AEDC) said about N2.5 billion has been expended in the last five years on the provision of of safety equipment.
It also expressed its readiness to host the 2018 Global Power Safety Summit, themed:Vision Zero Incident In Power Sector.
AEDC’s Managing Director, Engr. Ernest Mupwaya, this at the company’s headquarters in Abuja, where he was presented with the host flag.
He said the amount was used for the provision of personal safety gears, safety equipment, and reconstruction of shanty networks within its jurisdiction.
He said: “We have also invested in the massive education of the customers going from school to schools, villages knowing that when knowledge is shared, abuse and accidents are also reduced and more customers become loyal to the company,”.
While decrying the increasing rate of fatalities in the sector, he said since privatisation of the sector, the company has recorded a total of 101 fatalities.
He quickly pointed out that the figures include incidents as a result of errors from AEDC, inherited poor power networks from the defunct NEPA, among others.
Mupwaya, who stressed the importance of the summit, said: “The industry has been privatised for four to five years and every organisation which is part of this long supply chain have conducting their own to improve their safety records and performance over the years but we can achieve more through collaboration.
“This is why AEDC is supporting initiatives that put industries together , discuss our strategies,actions, by learning from each other. For instance the vision for this year is to ensure that we have zero incidence in terms of accidents.
“So working together, we are maximizing the chances of success because we can learn from each other and i am happy that the forum for this year will also attract participants from outside the country.
“This is a great thing for us because we will not only have synergy among ourselves but we can also learn from other colleagues.”