VZCZCXRO0726
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #1072 1671252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161252Z JUN 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6316
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 1518
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0380
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC

UNCLAS ABUJA 001072 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO USTDA-PAUL MARIN, EXIM-JRICHTER 
DEPT PASS TO USTR-AGAMA 
DEPT PASS TO USAID AFR/SD FOR CURTIS, ATWOOD, AND SCHLAGENHAUF 
BAGHDAD FOR MCCULLOUGH 
TREASURY FOR PETERS, IERONIMO, AND HALL 
DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS AND 3130/USFC/OIO/ANESA/CREED 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG EPET ECON EINV EAID PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: USTDA SPONSORED ELECTRICITY HEALTH AND SAFETY 
REGULATION LAUNCHED 
 
REF: ABUJA 291 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  On May 28, the Ministry of Power held a mandatory 
meeting of the electricity sector to disseminate the Nigerian 
Electricity Health and Safety Standards Manual and to declare that 
the industry is now accountable to the standards and that 
infractions will be punishable by law.  This manual was funded by a 
U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) 2007 grant in the amount 
of $507,000.  Minister of State for Power Nuhu Wya and Nigerian 
Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Administrator Imamuddeen 
Talba thanked both USTDA and the Mission for the manual and 
continued partnership in bringing adequate and affordable power to 
Nigerians.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Minister of State for Power Nuhu Wya and NERC Administrator 
Imamuddeen Talba led a power industry meeting on May 28 to present 
and distribute the Nigerian Electricity Health and Safety Standards 
Manual and to declare that the industry is now accountable to the 
standards.  In his speech Wya said that the power sector will now 
operate under new international standards that will guarantee the 
safety of workers and members of the public.  He underscored that 
industry participants must comply with the manual or be prosecuted. 
Talba added that NERC confirmed 23 deaths in 2007 and 42 deaths in 
2008 from electrocution with a large percentage attributed to the 
State distribution companies. The USTDA technical assistance program 
provided a train-the-trainer program and these trainers will lead a 
nationwide training program which launched on June 1, 2009. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The manual was developed as a part of a $507.000 - USTDA 
grant to develop industry-specific health and safety standards for 
Nigeria's electricity sector.  Wya and Talba thanked both USTDA and 
the Mission for the manual.  A hard copy of the 350 page manual, as 
well as an electronic copy, was issued in tandem by Wya and Talbert 
to the head of the transmission company, generating companies 
(private and public), distribution companies, representatives of the 
labor, health, justice, and petroleum ministries, the Nigeria Gas 
Company, the Independent Power Producer Association of Nigeria 
(IPPAN), Nigerian Police Force, National Insurance Commission, 
Federal Fire Service, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian 
Armed Forces. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The standards focus on all electrical and non-electrical 
workers performing work by electricity entities involved in the 
generation, transmission or distribution of power in Nigeria.  A 
review of numerous industry reports supported that fatalities 
occurred which could have been prevented by the use of recognized 
electricity industry safety systems in the workplace. The power 
sector is expected to double by 2010 and double output again by 
¶2012.  Currently the sector employs approximately 34,000 people. 
The country itself has a population of almost 150 million, with less 
than 40 per cent of the population with access to electricity. 
 
¶5. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. 
 
SANDERS