The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), the electricity sector regulator, is to establish an accepted professional status for electricians in the country through accrediting their qualifications and experience.
The proposed mechanism has been developed by PUCSL in collaboration with the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL), Tertiary, Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) and Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Lanka Electricity Company (PVT) Limited (LECO).
Explaining the reasons behind the initiative taken, Public Utilities Commission Director General Damitha Kumarasinghe said, “Sri Lanka has reported 106 electrocutions in 2017. Fifty-five percent of the electrocutions have occurred due to issues of wiring, maintenance and non-standards. With the system is in place, the professional status of the electricians will be uplifted, as well as the safety and quality of the electrical installation will be assured.”
PUCSL launched a public consultation on accrediting and licensing of electricians with a view of receiving the public, expertise and other stakeholder comments on the proposed mechanism. The comments will be accommodated to improve the proposed system.
Sri Lanka has about 21,000 electricians and data shows that only a few of them are qualified in National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). Most of the wiring and maintenance of the households and other premises are carried out by electricians who have no recognized qualifications but have experience through practice.
With the introduction of the mechanism, all the electricians will be issued a temporary licence to continue their work and that licence will only be valid for three years.
Those who are qualified with National Vocational Qualification 3 (NVQ 3) and above can obtain a permanent licence from CIDA within a day, after proving their knowledge at the evaluation facilitated by the Evaluation Panel.
Those who are not professionally qualified, but have hands-on experience, are given the opportunity to prove the competency and to qualify for NVQ levels through a process facilitated by CIDA, so that they can apply for the permanent licence.
With the permanent licence, electricians can design, wire, test, the installation of domestic wiring (30 amps signal phase) and issue a certificate to get the electrical connection which is accepted by CEB and LECO.
According to the proposed mechanism, it is a must to produce the certification of an electrician with the permanent licence, which states that the installation was designed, wired and tested to receive the electrical connection to a domestic (up to 30A, single phase).
Electricians with permanent licences can also carry out the wiring, testing and installation of the three phase 30 amps and 60 amps installation, subject to the design by a chartered engineer.
The proposed mechanism will also provide a career ladder for the electricians, according to their professional level and expertise, starting from apprentice, junior electrician, senior electrician, master electrician and utility electrician.
The utility electricians are recognized to install and maintain the distribution lines of 1,000 Volt to 33,000 Volt.
"With the mechanism in place, it is aimed to standardize the practice of the electricians to match with international standards and will encourage people who want to enter into this industry," Kumarasinghe said.
PUCSL invites stakeholders views, suggestions, recommendations, concerns and comments related to the following areas: categories/classes of licence to be issued and corresponding pre-requisite qualifications, eligibility requirements for licences and the responsibilities held, suggestions on structure of the licensing issuance framework and implementation, accountabilities held by key stakeholders and consortium, socio-economic impacts of the licencing issuance framework establishment.
The proposed mechanism in detail is now available at www.pucsl.gov.lk for reference. Those who are interested can submit their written comments to the Commission by post or e-mail ([email protected]) and online via www.pucsl.gov.lk on or before March 21.
The PUCSL also plans to hold an oral submission on the same.
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