Miffed by what it described as the proliferation of substandard generators and transformers in the country with all its attendant socioeconomic and environmental consequences, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has set machinery in motion to rid the market of these counterfeit products with the introduction of Mobile Testing Generator and Transformer Testing Equipment, reports IBRAHIM APEKHADE YUSUF.
Transformers and generators are the major component in the energy supply value chain in the country today. But the irony, however, is that there are more substandard products than there are better ones, thus making the quest by the government to address the energy supply challenge a mirage of some sorts.
According to data obtained from the International Trade Centre, Nigeria spent $5.26bn importing electric generating sets, electric transformers, vacuum cleaners, hair clippers, and other electrical machinery and equipment in 2020 and 2021 alone.
The data from the ITC revealed that the nation spent $5.26bn to supplement its electricity and electrical needs. It stated that electrical machinery and equipment and parts imported included electric motors and generators; electric generating sets and rotary converters; electrical transformers, static converters, e.g. rectifiers, and inductors; vacuum cleaners, including dry cleaners and wet vacuum cleaners; electromechanical domestic appliances; electric shavers, hair clippers and hair-removing appliances.
They also included electrical ignition; portable electric lamps; industrial or laboratory electric furnaces and ovens; microphones and stands; sound recording or sound reproducing apparatus; video recording or reproducing apparatus; monitors and projectors; electrical signalling, safety or traffic control equipment for railways, tramways, roads, inland waterways, parking facilities, and port installations or airfields.
Others include electrical apparatus for switching or protecting electrical circuits, or for making connections to or in electrical circuits; boards, panels, consoles, desks, cabinets and other bases.
Top countries that supplied the equipment to Nigeria included China, India, United Kingdom, Germany, and Hong Kong.
The National Bureau of Statistics in a recent report revealed that Nigeria gets 48.6 percent of its electricity needs from generators powered by petrol, diesel, and gas.
The statistics body noted that the national grid provided 51.2 percent of the nation’s power needs, leaving many citizens to depend on generators for electricity.
Challenge of products counterfeit
Despite the huge amount spent on alternative energy, emissions from electric generators contribute major health and environmental hazards in Nigeria.
Specifically, exhaust from generators contributes significantly to the emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2) and other pollutants that compromise human health and contribute to climate change.
According to research conducted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the CO2 emitted from generators in Sub-Saharan Africa is equal to about 20 percent of the total emissions from vehicles—the environmental equivalent to adding about 22 million passenger ehicles onto the road.
“Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions are associated with combustion, usually from burning of fossil fuel in vehicles or for energy generation. Exposure to NOx has been associated with increased risk of numerous respiratory illnesses. NOx can also form other pollutants that impact health (i.e. ozone, particles) and the environment (i.e. particles, acid rain). Our results suggest that generators account for 5 percent of NOx emissions across all modelled countries and 15 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
There is also evidence associating excess noise with health challenges such as high blood pressure and hearing loss.
Assessment in Nigeria from 2013-2015 showed noise levels of most common generators are beyond WHO limits (greater than 90db).
SON mobile testing labs to the rescue
To address the challenge common with the importation of generating sets and transformers due largely to non-conformity with the regulation standards and compliance, the SON, the quasi-governmental agency saddled with the responsibility ensuring quality and standards of products and services have taken the bulls by the horns with the introduction of Mobile Testing Generator and Transformer Testing Equipment.
At a public forum in Lagos last Thursday, with the theme, ‘Delivering Mobile Testing Labs at your Doorsteps for Socioeconomic Growth,’ the Director-General/CEO of the SON, Dr. Ifeanyi Chukwunonso Okeke shared interesting insights on what to expect from the mobile testing equipment.
Okeke, who disclosed that the Mobile Generators Testing Laboratory and Mobile transformer equipment is a state-of-art facility, a development, he said, represents a significant milestone in the field of power generation and supply.
According to him, “The dependence of Nigerians on use of generators to power homes and industries while the government continues working to improve electricity supply to its citizens, necessitates the need for SON to ensure that the quality of generators in the market comply with the requirements of Nigeria industrial standard. As a support to the federal government power improvement plan, SON has identified the power transformer as a very important component of the power supply chain that requires monitoring to ensure its quality complies with Nigeria industrial standard requirements.”
While further justifying the new tool kits, the SON boss said it is in fulfilment of SON mandate to organise test and do everything necessary to ensure compliance with standards designated and approved by the council, hence “SON has invested in both stationary and mobile testing facilities that can be moved to production facilities to carry out on the spot testing of products such as transformers and generators which is the focus of this launching today.”
The mobile testing facility, he stressed, is equipped to carry out tests on transformers such as load testing, protection test, generators efficiency, power factor, voltage regulation test, insulation test, emission test of generators exhaust and noise levelcheck.
“These are critical tests that will determine the quality of the generator and will supply information to our product certification department for MANCAP certification,” he said, adding that the mobile testing on transformer will include Insulation resistance, winding test, ration test polarity test leakage resistance partial discharge test and no-load loss and excitation current among others.
Clarion call to stakeholders
The SON boss also stressed the need for all and sundry to buy into the new value-adding initiative, even as he noted that for all assemblers, importers of these products that it is no longer business as usual as buyers must have value for their money and to know that all information supplied on their products will be verified and tested for compliance to Nigeria industrial standards.
“SON will be collaborating with other government agencies in the electricity sector to sanitise the market and ensure that only certified products are allowed into the Nigeria market. I also assure Nigerians that our administration will continue to do everything in line with our mandate to rid the market of substandard products and to the media houses we solicit more of your support to sensitise Nigerians on the need to patronise certified Made-in-Nigeria products.”
While fielding questions from journalists, Okeke further stressed that the SON is resolute about turning the tide in its quest to ensure adherence to standards especially in the energy supply chain in the country.
“Definitely that’s the reason why we are doing it. We are committed to ensuring that fake and substandard products are removed or completely wiped away from our system. This is one of the reasons why we are doing this; to make it flexible so that people will have that convenience to be able to. It is for us to take the machines and equipment right to the doorsteps of the producers to be able to ascertain the quality of their products,” Okeke stressed.
Also speaking at the occasion, Director, Lab Services, SON, Richard Adewunmi, who made a presentation on the impact and overview of SON laboratories services on socioeconomic growth of the country, said the facilities are a plus for the organisation and consumers, which will help in saving time and money.
“In the past, we had lots of complaints from consumers which we could not handle, but now, all of those problems are over with this mobile lab. This lab detects emission level and ascertains noise emission status. Transformer is vital in our community, so, every material used in coupling transformers must becertified.
With this mobile lab, we would start implementing a recall of transformers and generators policy once it fails conformity and certification tests.”
Adewunmi who noted that the relationship between the Nigerian consumer and the seller is rather short-lived after receiving receipt of sale, he was however to add that the manufacturer would still be liable in the eyes of the law if there are complaints arising from the operation of its products.
“The SON has a state-of-the-art power analyser today that would help to determine a lot either about your generator or transformer. We will be coming to you also to verify. I’m currently aware that there are two transformer manufacturers in Ikorodu and another one at Badagry road. We were at the Badagry office of the transformer company some weeks ago and we will be at Ikorodu to check the status of the company’s operations there also.”
While noting that most imported transformers usually have issues that have to do with quality of the winding wire, oil, laminating plate in terms of its quality, he said all these parameters would be adjudged properly henceforth for all imported generating sets and transformers.
Going down memory lane, he recalled the SON team went on a tour of facilities abroad and saw a first-hand view of the unscrupulous activities of manufacturers and their local allies in Nigeria.
“We were in a country where they produce transformers and we went through their assembly line and we found out that somehow when we compare what they are selling in Europe and what they are bringing to Nigeria, the difference was much in terms of quality. We observed that some of these transformers and their laminating plates were not properly put together and when it gets to certain loads, you see the plates vibrating somehow. That is a quality problem. Every material used in the transformer needs individual certification. If there is any of the materials you are using for the production of transformers is not certified, if it is not done by the time you coupler it together, the overall test of that transformer out will reflect on it; it’s either in noise, utility generation and that would be reflected on the finished products test result.
“There are those we call routine tests and entire tests, which are done at the time of the design of your transformer. Talking about emission from your generator, we also pay attention to the quantity of the carbon emission because there is a regulatory requirement on the number of carbon that must be emitted; we have a gas analyser, a noise analyser that would be able to do that. Are you emitting dangerous gases beyond the regulatory requirements, is your generator so noisy that you call a sound-proof bit it is not soundproof according to regulatory requirements? We are going to be looking at all of that and that’s why you heard the DG saying that it is no longer going to be business as usual.”
An elated Adewunmi who expressed confidence about the ability of the SON to set things right, waxed philosophical. “When you do not have criteria to do things and you don’t have the facilities everything and anything goes.”
Expatiating, he said, “For instance, if you tell me your generator is a 30KVA generator I will just certify because I don’t have the means to verify. If you say your generator makes zero noise, I will say ok. But that cannot happen again. I’m sure the manufacturers would be wondering about this. Yes, we are serious at SON. Why is it that we are not going to ask you to bring your 500KVA generator to our vicinity. No, we will drive our equipment to your premises to carry these tests, of course at a fee. And the safety of the use of your generator is very paramount to us and all of these put together, are things we are going to look at before we come to your facility. This is not just at your facility alone as you are bringing in your generator; we have a holding place where your generators would be comprehensively tested before you take it out.
“Also, if there are complaints against your generator, now we are not just going to ask you questions, we will move our trucks to the installation points and carry out test on it so that whatever you we seek your cooperation we are going to be doling this professionally and we will ensure that at the end of the day there is no doubt about what we are doing and every result generated we are going to give you a copy of the results because you are paying for the results.
“We have a Load bank for carrying out generator testing for high capacity and low-capacity. It is very important that you supply us with the right information. This is one area where a lot of our manufacturers deceive the customers. When we are going to be carrying out our tests, we are going to be paying attention to the information in particular. You are required to tell us what the capacity of that generator is.”
SON ready to wield the big stick
Also speaking on the SON total zero-tolerance for substandard products, Adewunmi hinted at plans by the agency to carry out product recall as part of adherence to standards.
This, he said, becomes inevitable, in order to fast-track the much anticipated speeded socioeconomic growth of the country.
“Many big companies, especially automobiles have been known to recall their products from the market when it becomes necessary. The SON will be going this route this time around,” he stressed.
More push for SON labs
Speakers after speakers, including the representative of Otunba Francis Meshioye, President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Joseph Emoleke, Director, Field Services, MAN, commended SON for the milestone achievement, saying that it is an incentive to the manufacturers and importers of both transformers and generators.
Emoleke noted that MAN would like the Ajaokuta Steel Mill to become functional, adding that it will reduce billions spent annually on importation of steel products.
Also, Dr. Leslie Adogame, Executive Director at Sustainable Research and Action for Environmental Development (SRADev Nigeria), a nonprofit, nongovernmental organisation while lauding the concerted efforts by the SON in stemming the tide of products counterfeiting, stressed the need for
In the view of one of the representatives of the Licensed Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria (LECAN), Lagos state chapter, while lauding the SON for the wonderful initiative, he was however quick to add that their body would contribute its own quota towards adoption of the new regime of testing in order to ensure efficient energy supply and management in the country.
“The information we just gathered here is a very interesting one because as professionals we bridge the gap between the customers and the manufacturers, most especially in the area of transformers. Engineer Adewunmi spoke about our paramount interest because most of the problems and challenges we encounter on transformers are heat and noise. So, we are very glad to have this. We hope to make the most of the opportunities offered by this new initiative by the SON.”
