Electrical safety and efficiency audit to be conducted in the next six months at the Santacruz Electronic Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Mumbai.

A request for the same was made by Mr. Shyam Jagannathan (IAS), Zonal Development Commissioner, SEEPZ to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) on Monday on the occasion of Electrical Safety Awareness Workshop organised at SEEPZ SEZ.

With the primary objective of electrical safety, the energy audit will not only assess safety measures in place but also on the measures taken to reduce energy efficient power devices. “We request everyone at the SEZ to confirm safety certifications as prescribed by the CEA,” said Mr. Jagannathan (IAS).

“In India, daily, on an average, there are 5-6 fatal accidents that are related to electricity. Comparatively, in the developed countries, there are 1-2 fatal incidents annually. Hence, safety compliances are necessary,” said Mr. L. K. S. Rathore, Director, Regional Inspectorate Office (West), CEA.

Sharing more light on the number of incidents and the causes behind it, Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Chief Engineer, CEA said, “The total number of fatal and non-fatal incidents put together are very high at 40,000 cases, the annual fatal accidents are around 2,000. Majority of these incidents are due to coming in contact with low voltage power. The reasons vary right from defective insulation, lack or improper earthing of electrical equipment, unauthorised work, poor wiring, undersized wires and cables, moisture in switch boards, and coming in contact with conductors, among others. In other words, it is due to neglect of safety measures.”

As per statistics on electrical accidents in India, year-on-year there has been continuous decline in incidents despite higher penetration of power and more users. The declining trend is due to increase in awareness among the people.

The workshop at SEEPZ SEZ included technical sessions wherein the participants were sensitised on electrical safety precautions and practices required.

“The abundant usage of electricity in our daily activities at home, office and public places is associated with a certain degree of risk to life and property. As incidents occur without warning, vigilance is a must as a preventive measure. Since potential danger from power cannot be seen, heard or smelt, it is the preventive and safety measures that one has to ensure at all places. Today’s sensitisation programme will help in raising the safety bar at SEEPZ SEZ,” said C. P. S. Chauhan, Joint Development Commissioner, SEEPZ SEZ.

The workshop was attended by Zonal Development Commissioner Shyam Jagannathan (IAS), Joint Development Commissioner C.P. Singh Chauhan, Deputy Development Commissioner Anurag Agarwal, Specified Officer Anil Chaudhary, CEA Director L. K. S. Rathore Arun Chaudhary, CEA Chief Engineer Ramesh Kumar, CEA Deputy Director P. Peddi Reddy, Deputy Director B. Venkata Sandeep, CEA Assistant Director Vikram Thorat.