MERA board chairperson Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe said MERA has now set guidelines that should help in identifying the installers and take them to task, as well as assisting licensed installers on how to operate.

He was speaking in Lilongwe on Wednesday during a consultative workshop with electricity installers and stakeholders to appraise the new guidelines.

“The newly developed guidelines will help electrical installers in execution of their work. The board saw the need to among other things have conditions, look into the ages of individual installers and premises from which they operate from. This will help us to determine whether to certify them,” said Bishop Bvumbwe.

President of Electrical Contractors Association of Malawi Mark Gadama hailed the formation of the guidelines, adding control over installers will assist in avoiding injuries and deaths that result from poor connections.

“Our association has members in all the district so we will be tracking these illegal electricity installers. The good thing is that the MERA has opened up and we will work hand in hand with them. This way, we will avoid injuries and deaths that result from misusing and misplacing installation materials.

Malawi has recently seen a rise in fire accidents that have been attributed to electrical faults.