Uche Cecil Izuora
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has outlined strategic energy plans for the commercial city of Lagos, assuring that the State will soon experience self power sufficiency.
Tegbe, disclosed the plan during a High-Level Strategic Power Town Hall held at Lagos House, Marina, where he said the federal government has promised to end constant power outages in Lagos State, with a target of bringing in a new supply of 3,500 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the state.
The meeting had in attendance federal and state government officials, as well as regulators and power sector operators.
Through a coordinated actions on generation, transmission, distribution, and metering, the state will be power self-sufficient soon, the Minister assured.
Tegbe, who was represented by the ministry’s Director of Distribution Services, Mr. Baba Mustapha, said Lagos required more than 6,000MW, but currently received far less from the national grid, stressing that increased generation would have limited impact without adequate transmission and distribution infrastructure, identifying gas supply, generation, transmission capacity, distribution bottlenecks and metering as key priorities.
Lagos, he said had secured 400MW from private producers and should continue to explore gas-fired, embedded, and renewable generation.
The State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for stronger coordination, smart metering, better data management, enforcement, and revenue assurance, saying stakeholders must work together to build consumer confidence and attract investment.
Sanwo-Olu proposed a review meeting in five to six months to assess implementation of the commitments.
Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Abiodun Ogunleye, said Lagos was determined to end a “culture of blackout”.
Ogunleye said Lagos currently received less than one gigawatt from the national grid, despite the Transmission Company of Nigeria having about 3.5GW of wheeling capacity.
He said the state’s immediate goal was to add about 2GW to existing supply, bringing available power closer to 3.5GW and enabling more feeders to serve homes and industries.
He also said the state would develop clear action points and establish a baseline for measuring progress at the proposed six-month review.
On tariffs, Ogunleye stressed that improved electricity supply must accompany payment, insisting that consumers should not be made to pay for darkness.
Special Adviser to the President on Power, and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, Dr. Rilwan Babalola, said the challenge went beyond adding megawatts.
Babalola said Nigeria must move from managing electricity shortages to building a functioning electricity market where energy, contracts, and money moved predictably across the value chain.
He described Lagos as a strategic testing ground for the Clean Lagos Electricity Market (CLEM), which proposes demand aggregation, bilateral contracting, open access, payment assurance, and transparent settlement.
He said the proposed initial 500MW must first prove that electricity could be reliably generated, delivered, metered, accounted for, and paid for before the model is scaled.
Babalola also stressed that decentralisation of the electricity market must not lead to fragmentation, urging clear coordination between federal and state regulators and the interconnected national grid.
According to him, the ultimate objective of the Power Sector Reset was to move “from megawatts announced to electricity delivered; from government interventions to functioning markets; and from managing scarcity to building a sustainable electricity industry”.