Residents risk electrocution as electricity wires are dangerously positioned

dimeji akinloye

October 16, 2015 12:52 AM

He made the remark while speaking to newsmen shortly after inspecting electricity facilities in Kano.

A woman walks her child to school past high voltage electrical pylons on the outskirts of Kenya's capital Nairobi, March 14, 2011. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

Chief Peter Aweso, the Managing Director, Nigerian Electricity Management Agency, on Thursday described the state of electricity facilities in Kano as obsolete.

According to him, the facilities are unsafe and that electricity consumers are vulnerable to high risk in the town.

He said the agency was mandated to ensure safety of electricity consumers all over the country.

"Cases related to high risk as a result of the decay of facilities are becoming worrisome,’’ he said.

Aweso said officials of the agency were in Kano in continuation of a nationwide monitoring of distribution network to ascertain their status.

"The exercise is being conducted with a view to making amendment and correction to avoid putting consumers at high risk,’’ he said.

He said the exercise was also meant to address the issue of lack of quality in the supply of electricity to consumers.

"Many of the lines we have inspected are dangerously hanging, some of them are within the reach of persons, which should not be.

"Many of them you have a pole carrying two, three types of healthy network which is unsafe in ideal circumstances."

He said there were many areas where trees were encroaching on electricity lines which posed great danger to consumers with their cables dangerously hanging.

"Under heavy rain such people can be electrocuted,’’ Aweso said.

He said the agency's mission was to find out grey areas and draw the attention of the DISCOs to rectify the anomalies for the safety of consumers.

dimeji akinloye