By Ayomide Otitoju
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ending persistent blackouts and achieving 24-hour electricity supply across the state.
Sanwo-Olu said the Lagos State Government would work with key stakeholders to increase available electricity supply to about 3,500 megawatts (MW) through coordinated efforts in generation, transmission, distribution and metering.
The governor spoke on Thursday at the Lagos State High-Level Strategic Power Town Hall held at Lagos House, Marina, where stakeholders reviewed the state’s electricity challenges and discussed practical solutions to improve power generation, transmission and distribution.
The meeting brought together stakeholders across the electricity value chain, including regulators, distribution companies, transmission operators, asset managers, investors and representatives of the Federal and Lagos State governments.
Sanwo-Olu said the state’s huge electricity demand, existing infrastructure and emerging electricity market could be leveraged to attract investment and provide more reliable power to homes, businesses and industries.
He called for stronger coordination among stakeholders, improved metering, better data management, effective enforcement and stronger revenue assurance to address longstanding challenges in the sector.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, represented by the Director of Distribution Services in the Federal Ministry of Power, Baba Mustapha, said Lagos requires more than 6,000MW of electricity but currently receives far less from the national grid.
He stressed that increased generation would have limited impact without adequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, identifying gas supply, generation capacity, transmission constraints, distribution bottlenecks and metering as key areas requiring attention.
The Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, Rilwan Lanre Babalola, said the challenge was no longer simply about generating more electricity but building a functional and sustainable electricity market.
Babalola said Nigeria must move away from a system in which government continually acts as buyer, guarantor and absorber of losses across the electricity value chain.
He said the proposed Clean Lagos Electricity Market (CLEM) could help transform Lagos’ high electricity demand into a structured and investable market through demand aggregation, bilateral contracts, open access, payment assurance and transparent settlement.
According to him, stakeholders must clearly identify demand centres, electricity and gas sources, network capacity, efficient tariffs and transparent payment systems for generators, network operators and gas suppliers.
Babalola also highlighted the importance of decentralisation following constitutional amendments and the Electricity Act, which allow states to establish and regulate their electricity markets.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Abiodun Ogunleye, said the town hall was convened to end what he described as the “culture of blackout” in Lagos.
Ogunleye said the state would develop clear action points and establish a baseline for measuring progress during a proposed six-month review.
On tariffs, he stressed that improved electricity supply must be matched by payment, insisting that consumers should not be required to pay for electricity they do not receive.
He said achieving the 3,500MW target would enable more feeders to operate and increase electricity supply to homes and industries that depend on reliable power for productive activities.
Ogunleye added that newly commissioned substations would strengthen the state’s electricity infrastructure, while the government would work with distribution companies to monitor selected feeders and measure improvements in supply.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Temitope George, identified generation and transmission constraints, energy theft, vandalism and non-payment of electricity bills as major challenges facing the sector.
George urged consumers to pay for the electricity they consume, warning that non-payment distorts the electricity market and affects the ability of other consumers to receive adequate supply.
She said Lagos was also exploring embedded power generation to complement electricity from the national grid and reduce the state’s dependence on the national system.
The town hall ended with a commitment from stakeholders to translate the discussions into concrete action points, establish measurable baselines and conduct periodic reviews to assess progress toward improved electricity supply in Lagos.
