AUW2017 FOCUS Safety and business sustainability in the power industry The challenges in the power sector in Nigeria grew with time in the face of weak infrastructure, vandalism, electrical accidents with several electrocutions, and poor service. and environmental risks prevents losses and reduces attendant accident costs including compensation, medical expenses, regulatory penalties and fines, reputational damage, operational losses and legal consequences. The duty of business is survival According to Peter F. Drucker, an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation, avoidance of loss is paramount to business success. Drucker states: “The first duty of business is survival, and the guiding principle of business economics is avoidance of loss – not maximisation of profit.” Hence, avoiding losses – including those that occur as a result of our failure to integrate appropriate safety risk assessment into the power industry in Nigeria and the entire global village – will eventually promote and sustain the profitability and health of the players in the industry. F or the purpose of implementing a strategy to reduce fatality and injury rates in the power sector, as it impacts on service delivery, health and safety of utility workers and the general public, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) put in place the Nigerian Electricity Health and Safety Code Version 1.0, released in 2014. This practical document formulated with best industry practices to achieve the standards of health and safety as required under Part III Sections 32 (1)(e) and 32(2)(b) of the EPSR Act 2005. 22 Despite this code and other applicable safety guidelines, such as the Nigerian Electricity Supply and Installation Standards Regulations 2015, the level of electrical accidents, the fatality and injury rates, are still on the increase. Electrical accident especially when it involves people, both utility workers and the public as well the environment, usually leads to huge expenditure, which has a deep effect on the triple bottom line (Profits, People and Planet) of business sustainability. Hence, managing the health, safety To prevent any untoward incident in the industry, there is urgent need to carry out network technical audits... ESI AFRICA ISSUE 1 2017