Latest electricity sector data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has highlighted that 33 people died, while another 33 suffered varying degrees of injuries in electricity-related accidents across Nigeria.
According to the Q3 2025 report, 57 power-related accidents were recorded nationwide during the period.
The incidents occurred across multiple distribution zones, with the Ikeja and Kano electricity distribution areas reporting the highest number of cases in the quarter.
Each of the two zones recorded 10 accidents. In Ikeja, six people were injured and four died, while Kano recorded six fatalities and four injuries.
Although Abuja, Jos, Aba, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Yola reported fewer cases, the figures were still concerning. Eko, Kaduna, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) also featured significantly, with several incidents resulting in serious injuries, deaths, or both.
The report showed that unsafe acts and hazardous conditions caused the highest number of injuries and were jointly responsible for the highest number of fatalities. Wire snaps ranked among the deadliest hazards, leading to 10 deaths and seven injuries within the quarter.
Overall, 10 fatalities and 18 injuries were linked to unsafe practices or conditions, reflecting issues such as human error, weak safety culture, and poor enforcement of operational standards by licensees.
Cases of illegal or unauthorised access to electricity installations also added to the casualty figures, resulting in two deaths and three injuries during the review period.
Vandalism, though accounting for fewer incidents, still caused two fatalities.
NERC further disclosed that the TCN recorded four cases of damage to property and infrastructure caused by explosions, fire outbreaks, or vandalism within the quarter.
The commission said investigations were launched into all reported accidents and that appropriate enforcement actions would be taken where necessary.
It added that periodic health and safety managers’ meetings were organised to improve safety performance across the sector. These meetings bring together safety officers from electricity companies to review incidents, share lessons, and identify areas needing urgent attention.
During the period, NERC also supervised the successful completion of two compensation negotiations between electricity companies and victims’ families, signalling continued efforts to address the consequences of such incidents.
The report further revealed that in the preceding quarter (Q2), 38 deaths, 19 injuries, and 60 accidents were recorded.
“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.