Unauthorised electrical workers fined for unsafe work

Unauthorised electrical workers fined for unsafe work

The Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB) has successfully taken action against another eight individuals or companies for undertaking unauthorised electrical work in contravention of the Electricity Act 1992.

EWRB Registrar John Sickels says it is important that consumers understand that registered, licensed or other authorised electrical workers must do prescribed electrical work.

“EWRB is there to protect New Zealanders and ensure the quality of the electrical work carried out is of the highest quality. Faulty and bad workmanship in this area can be fatal,” Mr Sickels says.
“We make no apology for this and we will continue to be vigilant in relation to unregistered and unlicensed workers and will prosecute wherever necessary.”

Mr Sickels recommends that all people wanting to engage an electrical worker should ask to see the workers practising licence as the licence demonstrates that the worker is authorised by the EWRB to carry out electrical work.

Vehicle Hoist (NZ) Ltd was ordered to pay a fine and costs of $3,601 in June for disconnecting and reconnecting the power supply to a vehicle hoist.
Another seven individuals received fines and costs totalling more than $15,000 for performing electrical work they were not qualified to complete leaving behind dangerous equipment that in some cases had the potential to be fatal.

They were:
· 22 October – Graham Maber convicted in the North Shore District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $2326 for unsafely wiring a hot water cylinder creating the danger of electric shock.

· 14 November – Michael Lam, convicted in the Waitakare District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $2359 for the unauthorised installation of a gas heater at a residential property.

· 17 November – Marcin Sztandera convicted in the Christchurch District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $1060 for work he did not have the ability to undertake.

· 27 November – Bruce Ballantyne convicted in the Waitakere District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $880 for disconnecting a vehicle spray booth at the termination of his tenancy of a commercial property.

· 2 December – Aaron Ray convicted in the Christchurch District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $3356 for failing to ensure power had been permanently disconnected from a house he was in the process of demolishing.

· 2 December – Douglas Cryer convicted in the Waitakere District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $1856 for the unauthorised disconnection of the main cables from the switchboard of a residential property.

· 9 December Ritesh Shyam convicted in the Auckland District Court and ordered to pay fine and costs of $3716 for failing to make safe a new outdoor heatpump unit that he left live on an iron roof with no earth, causing him to receive an electric shock.

The EWRB was established in 1992 and is responsible for the ongoing competency of over 30,000 registered electrical and electronic workers in New Zealand. Part of the function of the Board is to exercise disciplinary powers and bring prosecutions where necessary under the Electricity Act 1992.

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