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The Electricity Control Board (ECB) has sounded the alarm on a concerning rise in electrical safety incidents, particularly within the Northern Regional Electricity Distributor (NORED) area. Recent statistics paint a worrying picture, with NORED accounting for 41% of all reported industry incidents and 63% of fatalities over the past four years. In response, the ECB has stepped in to enforce stricter safety measures and ensure compliance with the Namibia Electricity Safety Code (NESC).
Namibia’s Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) reported 17 accidents between 2022 and 2025, eight of which were fatal. Though every power distributor has experienced safety problems, NORED has been the most impacted with seven reported accidents and five deaths.
Among the incidents was a tragic case where an illegal connection at a guesthouse led to the death of a visitor. In another case, a NORED employee was electrocuted while working on an ABC (Aerial Bundled Conductor) line, raising concerns about procedural failures and oversight.
“The rise in accidents is concerning and calls for quick action to bring industry safety back,” stated Robert Kahimise, CEO of ECB, in a forceful statement.
In an effort to curb the rising trend of accidents, the ECB has issued a directive outlining urgent actions NORED must take to improve safety. These include looking into every incident in depth and making sure illegal connections are fixed before power is restored, deciding responsibility for safety lapses, improving inspections and monitoring of unauthorized extensions, raising safety awareness campaigns for both workers and the public, reinforcing internal policies on dealing with live electrical infrastructure, and sending monthly reports to the ECB to guarantee ongoing compliance with safety requirements. The ECB also plans to engage with other electricity distributors to implement similar safety education initiatives, aiming to reduce industry-wide risks.
At the heart of this intervention is a simple but critical message: electricity safety must never be compromised. Whether it’s a consumer using illegal connections or a licensed distributor failing to enforce best practices, the risks are too high to ignore.
“The NESC exists to protect everyone, workers, consumers, and the general public,” Kahimise emphasized. “We cannot afford to lose more lives due to preventable accidents.”
With stricter oversight now in place, the ECB hopes that these measures will lead to a safer and more responsible electricity sector,one where both companies and consumers take safety as seriously as they take power supply.
While the ECB’s intervention is a step in the right direction, real change will require a collective effort from all stakeholders. NORED and other electricity providers must commit to rigorous safety enforcement, while consumers need to be aware of the dangers posed by illegal and unsafe connections.
The message is clear: electricity safety is not optional, it’s a matter of life and death.
