diff --git a/extensions/openpower-pels/sbe_ffdc_handler.cpp b/extensions/openpower-pels/sbe_ffdc_handler.cpp
index af445c3..4415028 100644
--- a/extensions/openpower-pels/sbe_ffdc_handler.cpp
+++ b/extensions/openpower-pels/sbe_ffdc_handler.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <ekb/hwpf/fapi2/include/return_code_defs.H>
 #include <fmt/format.h>
+#include <libekb.H>
 
 #include <new>
 #include <phosphor-logging/log.hpp>
@@ -167,6 +168,12 @@
         return;
     }
 
+    if (libekb_init())
+    {
+        log<level::ERR>("libekb_init failed, skipping ffdc processing");
+        return;
+    }
+
     try
     {
         // libekb provided wrapper function to convert SBE FFDC