NEMSA Profile

NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES AGENCY (NEMSA)

The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) is established by NEMSA Act 2015 (now the Electricity Act 2023) to carry out the Functions of Enforcement of Technical Standards and Regulations, Technical Inspection, Testing and Certification of all Categories of Electrical Installations, Electricity Meters, and Instruments, to ensure the Efficient Production and Delivery of Safe, Reliable and Sustainable Electricity Power Supply and Guarantee Safety of Lives and Property in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, and other allied industries/workplaces/premises in Nigeria.
Electricity has become a necessary part of our everyday life and is of great benefit to us. However, it is associated with hazards, which if misused/abused, a terrible price is paid in injuries, fatalities, equipment damage, and unscheduled down time; For safe, reliable and sustainable Electricity Supply, it is paramount that the associated hazards are effectively mitigated. Mitigating the hazards of electricity to make it safe, reliable and sustainable, led to the development of Technical Standards, Regulations and Codes; The developed Technical Standards, Regulations and Codes can only be impactful if effectively enforced, thus the establishment of NEMSA.

Mandate:
In line with the mandate and enforcement powers of NEMSA, no electrical installation or networks/power systems/power plants and transmission installations along the power value chain and other workplaces/premises in Nigeria can be put in place and into use without first being inspected, tested and certified fit for use by NEMSA electrical inspectors (Engineers and Technical Officers). In the same vein, no electrical installation contractor or technician is permitted to carry out electrical installation work in Nigeria unless he has been duly certified by NEMSA and has been issued a competency certificate permitting him/her to so function. Generally, the enforcement of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection, testing and certification is a critical and very important aspect of managing the growth of the power industry of any nation.
Critical Elements of NEMSA’s Mandate include, ensuring that electrical materials/equipment/ instruments used in NESI and other workplaces are of the right type, quality, standard and specifications; the power systems and networks put in place have been properly planned, designed and executed before use to ensure that such systems/networks are capable of delivering safe, reliable and regular electricity supply to the consumers nationwide; and that electrical installations in homes, offices, commercial and industrial premises have been properly constructed and executed to ensure reliability and safety of use.
Other key elements include ensuring safety of lives and property within the grid and off-grid networks; ensuring that electricity energy meters and instruments are of the right type, class and accuracy for proper accountability of energy produced, delivered, supplied and utilized by the consumers. They must also be duly tested and certified fit before deployment and use in Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), other allied industries and workplaces. Lastly, all Electrical Installations Contractors/Practitioners/All other technical personnel engaged in the practice of electrical installations works along the value chain and utilization in NESI and allied industries must be certified.

Vision:
To be an efficient world class technical enforcement Agency that ensures standardization, specification, quality, safety and competence for the competitive Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and other allied industries.

Mission:
To ensure efficient, stable, safe and reliable networks for electricity supply; safety of lives and property in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry through appropriate and innovative technology employing a well-motivated workforce.

Structure:
The NEMSA structure begins with the Federal Ministry of Power who supervises all agencies in the Power sector, then the NEMSA non-executive Governing board made up of 8 members appointed across the six geopolitical areas of the country and headed by the Chairman. Also, in the board is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer NEMSA & Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation (CEIF) and the General Manger legal services as the secretary.
The next level in the structure of NEMSA after the governing board is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Engr. Tukur Tahir Aliyu FNIPE and he doubles as the Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation (CEIF) pursuant to Section 7(5) of the NEMSA Act 2015 with powers to carry out the functions of enforcement of technical standards and regulations, through technical inspection, testing and certification of all categories of electrical installations, network and system, Electricity meters and instruments and other related matters in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
NEMSA has a total of three (3) directorates, six (6) departments and seven (7) units. Its Corporate Headquarter is located at No. 4 Dar es Salaam Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja. NEMSA has Nineteen (19) Inspectorate Field Offices (IFOs) located nationwide, Four (4) Operational National Meter Test Stations (NMTS) located at Oshodi, Kaduna, Port Harcourt & Enugu and two (2) – ongoing NMTS construction Located at Benin City & Kano, One (1) Chemical and Engineering laboratory located at Ijora, Lagos, Three (3) Warehouses located at Oshodi, Kaduna and Port Harcourt, One (1) Transformer Repairs & Testing Workshop located at Ijora, One (1) Clinic located at Abuja, One (1) Printing Press located at Ijora, Lagos.

Collaboration with other Agencies
NEMSA is collaborating with both national and international agencies for synergy, and for smooth and efficient implementation of its mandate, such collaborations are with:
• Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who is the regulator of the Power sector, NEMSA enforces all statutory technical standards and regulation.
• Nigerian Institute of Power Engineers on training synergy and technical information sharing
• Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON)
• Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to provide technical expertise to the commission on technical and electrical issues
• Nigerian Police / Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on safety Of NEMSA Inspectors and security of infrastructures
• Federal Fire Service (FFS) to provide technical expertise in electrical fire incidents investigations
• Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE) on training synergy and technical information sharing
• National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) on technical training and human capacity building for NEMSA staff and the power sector.

Collaboration with development partners:
UNIDO
JICA
GIZ/NESP
USAID

Achievements:
some of the achievements and recognition of NEMSA are:
• Inspection of over 15,931 Electricity projects in the country out of which 10,692 have been certified fit by NEMSA for use.
• Monitored over 12,114 existing networks and power systems nationwide as part of the Agency’s mandate
• Inspected over 3,255 electrical installations at factories, hazardous installations by NEMSA.
• Certification of over 143 manufacturers of electric concrete poles in Nigeria.
• Certification of Meter manufacturers in Nigeria
• Increased the number of schemes for the certification of electrical installation personnel namely:
Electrical Installation Personnel
Renewable Energy Installation Personnel
Metering Installation Personnel
• Undertook the Nigerian National Accreditation System (NINAS). ISO/IEC 17024 Certification process for the Regulation, Safety and Certification Unit of NEMSA
• Annual enlightenment roundtable discussion for Legislature, Judiciary and other Stakeholders on NEMSA mandate and activities.
• Training of Electrical Engineers of NEMSA on Renewable energy by GIZ
• NEMSA has obtained the Quality Management System (QMS) certification based on NIS:ISO 9001:2015 to improve the Agency productivity, and as a necessary pre-condition for International Accreditation for the NEMSA’s Test Facilities Nationwide.
• Publication of the Nigerian Electrical Installation & Construction Guideline Manuals for the Distribution sub-sector and Inspection of Solar Mini-Grid. The above Publications have been done to ensure standardization and unification of our distribution networks and systems.
• In 2022, NEMSA received a Gold award for the successful implementation of the Self-Assessment Tool (SAT) deployed by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR). NEMSA was adjudged one of the best in adherence to rules and its consistency in exceeding expectations. The SAT is designed to enable agencies to ascertain the viability of their administrative and operational processes.

Initiatives:
NEMSA has established a Meter Generation Museum/Gallery at the National Meter Test Station (NMTS), Oshodi in Lagos. This Museum/Gallery is designed to showcase the evolution path of electricity meters in Nigeria from a simple electromechanical electricity meter to Advanced Meter Reading (AMR) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The project was aimed at educating Nigerians on what electricity meters used to be during the pre-independence era, and will bring the historical time-line of electricity meter generation closer to the people of Nigeria, and to the world at large. The facility would be used as a collaborative launch-pad in the power sector for lecturers, students, tourists and electricity users to enhance their knowledge in the evolution of meters, and to have confidence in the discussion of the meter origin.

NEMSA also inaugurated a taskforce on monitoring of the performance of existing networks and stemming the use of substandard electrical materials and equipment across the country. Basically, the mandate of the taskforce is to look at the challenges between transmission and distribution to find out the technical challenges and eliminate them.

Stakeholders forum is another initiative of NEMSA.

Added to this is the monthly Safety Performance Ranking of Operators in the NESI to improve on the safety performers of network operators in the NESI towards achieving the delivery of safe electrical supply and guarantee safety of lives and property in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
NEMSA: Safety first, Safety always!