FG, Lagos begin push for 24-hour power

Lagos accounts for 40-50% of national electricity demand — Minister

By Olasunkanmi Akoni and Shekinah Ijile

LAGOS — The Federal Government and the Lagos State Government have established joint committees to drive interventions aimed at achieving 24-hour electricity supply in Lagos, with the state serving as a pilot for similar efforts in other major energy corridors across the country.

The agreement was reached on Monday at the Ministerial Implementation Retreat on the Clean Lagos Electricity Market, CLEM, held at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Marina.

Speaking at the retreat, which was attended by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the initiative was part of the Federal Government’s strategy to focus on three major energy zones and corridors — the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt.

Tegbe said the Lagos axis alone accounts for about 40 to 50 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity demand, making it a key focus of the government’s efforts to ultimately provide 24-hour electricity supply.

He said discussions at the retreat focused on the market structure, regulatory framework, as well as technical and operational issues required to address electricity supply challenges in the immediate, medium and long terms.

“We came with pragmatic solutions. Some of them are going to take action immediately, quick wins, some of them. I believe that Nigerians will start to see some differences in Lagos axis as far as power supply is actually manifested,” the minister said.

Tegbe announced the establishment of a Joint Technical Working Committee, to be co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Energy, and the Managing Director of the Lagos State Independent System Operator, LAISO.

The committee will comprise representatives of relevant institutions, including the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN; Rural Electrification Agency, REA; Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC; Federal Ministry of Power; LAISO; and Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission, LASERC.

The minister also announced the establishment of a Steering Committee to oversee implementation of the agreed measures, with Sanwo-Olu as chairman and himself as co-chairman.

Other members of the Steering Committee, he said, would include the Special Adviser on Power, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy, Biodun Ogunleye.

Tegbe said the committees would focus on delivering electricity to consumers in the identified energy zones as quickly as possible, beginning with Lagos before extending the approach to the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors.

Speaking at the retreat, Sanwo-Olu described the engagement as productive, saying the meeting lasted almost four hours and involved senior officials from both the Federal Government and Lagos State.

The governor described the discussions as “very frank”, saying participants addressed major challenges affecting electricity supply and presented suggestions towards resolving them.

According to him, “low-hanging fruits” were identified during the meeting, with the expectation that residents and electricity consumers would begin to see the impact of the engagement in the near future.

Sanwo-Olu expressed confidence that the establishment of the Steering Committee would accelerate implementation of the measures agreed upon at the retreat.

He said the initiative marked the beginning of efforts towards realising President Bola Tinubu’s vision of achieving 24-hour electricity supply in Nigeria.

The governor stressed that the objective should extend beyond Lagos to other parts of the country, with the experience from the Lagos pilot expected to inform interventions in other major energy corridors.