KINGSTON - A batch of 50 persons - contractors, engineers, lecturers and instructors commenced a National Electrical Code (NEC) training workshop today at the Regency Suites/Hotel, Georgetown. The programme comes under the aegis of the Hinterland Electrification Company Inc. (HECI) of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, and is aimed at training 100 electrical personnel overall on the essentials of the NEC.
The NEC which the new government intends to implement is a United States of America set of necessary criteria for construction, installation, repair, up-grade and other electrical works. The workshop will be held over two weeks.
Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure Annette Ferguson, at the opening ceremony, said that whilst many examples can be cited and which pinpoint the unquantifiable losses due to fires of electrical origin, what stands paramount is the adherence to the same rules, and following the same set of standards which are delineated in the NEC.
“We cannot allow that state of play to continue…We have to standardise our approaches… We must adhere to the one code that governs us all. The NEC is structured in such a way that it gives the requisite guidance for all aspects of our operations, whether we are contractors, engineers, lecturers, or instructors. We must hold each other’s feet to the fire of compliance, to ensure that other people don’t get burnt,” Minister Ferguson explained.
She added that compliance to these standards are ultra-critical, as without it, lives will be lost, properties destroyed, livelihood decimated, and generations of hard work literally brought to naught.
“We can’t allow that… we are all in this together, to ensure that all critical elements of this code are meticulously adhered to... This is my charge to you… Let us set a Key Performance Indicator for the electricity sector that seeks to reduce electrically related fires by at least 75%. Let us strive to set up achievable service levels that evolve around it ensuring that all home and office installations be verified for compliance with the new code within the next year,” Minister Ferguson charged.
The Electricity Sector Reform Act of 1999 establishes the provisions, which led to the gazetting of the NEC, under the Electricity Sector (Technical Standards) Regulations 2008, made under the Electricity Sector Reform Act 1999.
However, the bringing into force of the code was delayed to allow reasonable time for familiarising by contractors. With its enactment, the necessary action will soon be taken to table the code into effect. (GINA)
