The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said that 149 electricity personnel were killed or injured in electricity-related incidents across Nigeria’s power sector between the first and third quarters of 2025.
According to the NERC’s health and safety section of its newly released industry report, the casualties, comprising 83 fatalities and 66 injuries, highlight lingering safety challenges in the power sector.
It noted that power-related accidents continue to pose significant risks despite ongoing regulatory oversight and safety campaigns within the sector.
The NERC stated that the casualty figures climbed sharply over the period, driven largely by incidents at the distribution level, despite marginal improvements in accident counts in the third quarter.
It will be recalled that in its Q1 report, the commission stated that it launched investigations into all the accidents and would continue to work with all sector stakeholders to improve the overall health and safety of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
“The total number of accidents in 2025/Q3 was 57, which resulted in 33 injuries and 33 fatalities. The commission has launched investigations into all the accidents and will continue to work with all sector stakeholders to improve the overall health and safety of the NESI.
“Compared with the first quarter of 2025, the number of accidents rose from 31 to 60 in the second quarter, while fatalities increased from 12 in Q1 to 38 in Q2. Injuries also climbed from 14 in the first quarter to 19 in the second quarter,” the report said.
In the Q3 report, the NERC noted that all the accidents occurred within the distribution sub-segment, with no safety incidents reported by the Transmission Company of Nigeria or generation companies. The pattern continues a long-standing trend that has seen DisCos account for nearly all safety accidents in the sector.
According to the regulator, Ikeja and Kano DisCos recorded the highest number of casualties in Q3, with 10 each, representing 15.15 per cent of the quarter’s total. Eko and Kaduna DisCos followed with eight casualties apiece, or 12.12 per cent each.
“During the quarter (2025/Q3), 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.
GIK/APA