33 Killed, 33 Others Injured In Electricity-Related Accidents In Three Months — NERC

Latest electricity sector data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has spotlighted how 33 people lost their lives, and another 33 sustained various degrees of injuries in power-related accidents across the country.

According to the Q3 2025 report, a total of 57 power-related accidents were reported nationwide.

The accidents were spread across several distribution zones, with Ikeja and Kano electricity distribution areas recording the highest number of incidents during the quarter.

Both zones reported 10 accidents each. Ikeja also recorded six injuries and four deaths, while Kano posted six deaths and four injuries.

While Abuja, Jos, Aba, Port Harcourt, Enugu,u and Yola recorded varying but still troubling levels of incidents, Eko, Kaduna, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) also featured prominently. In many of these cases, accidents resulted in either severe injuries or fatalities, or both.

Unsafe acts and hazardous conditions accounted for the highest number of injuries and tied for the highest number of fatalities, while wire snaps emerged as one of the deadliest hazards, accounting for 10 fatalities and seven injuries during the quarter.

Ten deaths and 18 injuries were attributed to unsafe practices or conditions, pointing to a mix of human error, poor safety culture, and inadequate enforcement of operational standards by licensees.

Illegal or unauthorised access to electricity installations also contributed to the casualty figures, leading to two fatalities and three injuries during the period under review.

Vandalism, while responsible for fewer casualties in the quarter, still resulted in two deaths.

The report also noted that the TCN recorded four cases of damage to property and infrastructure arising from explosions, fire outbreaks, or acts of vandalism during the quarter.

However, NERC said it initiated investigations into all reported accidents and signalled its intention to enforce appropriate actions where necessary.

The regulator said it organised periodic health and safety managers’ meetings aimed at improving safety performance across the industry, where it brings together health and safety officers from electricity companies to review incident reports, share lessons learned, and identify areas requiring urgent improvement.

During the period under consideration, the regulator disclosed that it supervised the successful conclusion of two compensation negotiations between electricity companies and families of victims, an indication of ongoing efforts to address the aftermath of such incidents.

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However, the report showed that in the previous quarter (Q2), 38 fatalities were recorded, 19 persons were injured, and 60 accidents were reported.

“Relative to 2025/Q2, the number of accidents decreased from 60 to 57, the number of fatalities decreased from 38 to 33, but the number of injuries increased from 19 to 33,” the NERC report stressed.

It added: “During the quarter, all the accidents occurred at the distribution level, i.e., neither TCN nor any of the Gencos recorded safety accidents. Although all Discos recorded casualties, the licensees with the highest number of casualties out of the total 66 recorded during the quarter are Ikeja and Kano (10), Eko and Kaduna (8), representing 15.15 per cent and 12.12 per cent of the total, respectively.

“This quarter continues the trend of the distribution sub-segment being the biggest driver of safety accidents in the sector. Discos accounted for 93.33 per cent, 100 per cent, and 100 per cent in 2024/Q4, 2025/Q1, and 2025/Q2, respectively,” the NERC report pointed out.