Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appealed to the members of the House of Representatives to allow input of sub national governments in the Electricity Bill 2022 to unbundle knotty issues surrounding generation, transmission and distribution of power in the Country.
Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this at the Lagos House, Ikeja, during the handover of the Lagos State Integrated Resource Plan, IRP, commissioned in partnership with the US Agency for International Development USAID, and Power Africa as part of the Nigeria Power Sector Programme, PA-NPSP.
Governor Sanwo-Olu who pointed out that Lagos is the first State to come up with such an initiative noted that despite privatisation, a lot more is needed to be done in the power sector and it will be better for each State to identify and proffer solutions to their peculiar power needs
“So that we and they can see what our challenges are and we can sit down together and can bring about a bill that is bankable, that will help the private sector funding and financing into the sector and everybody can move at their place, Lagos can actually analyse what its power demands are and what the future power needs will be. So that we can indeed make this economy work for our people, for small and medium businesses to have access to power, for large conglomerates to have access to their power needs, it’s only when we do that, that we will triple the GDP of this State and the country” Sanwo-Olu said.
The Governor urged stakeholders, including the top officials of Ikeja electric and Eko Disco who were at the handing over ceremony not to leave the document on the shelf.
The Lagos IRP identifies the infrastructure gaps and short, medium and long term investments to close those gaps between now and 2036, meet the electricity needs of Lagos residents, businesses, as well as Public/government premises, such as Hospitals.
The USAID Power Africa programme was initiated by the Obama administration.
The US Consul -General, Lagos, Mr. Will Stevens said his government, USAID and Power Africa would continue to collaborate with Lagos State to implement the plan to further support power sector planning and coordination and provide guidance to stakeholders on Lagos State power system development requirements.
“The U.S. government is committed to expanding and supporting the modernization of Lagos’s energy sector, building a foundation for broad and inclusive economic and social development. This Integrated Resource Plan is a concrete testament to the partnership between the United States and Lagos State as we both work together to create a sustainable and equitable future,” explained U.S. Consul General to Lagos, Will Stevens.
Earlier, the state Commissioner for Energy, Mr Olalere Odusote described the IRP as a milestone which will gradually take Lagos distribution away from the national grid.
As the most populous in Nigeria, Lagos State has a predicted increase in peak electricity demand by as much as 400 percent by 2040. The Integrated Resource Plan serves as a roadmap and blueprint to improve sector planning and coordination while providing guidance on Lagos State energy development requirements to stakeholders, including federal and state agencies, regulators, power generators, electricity transmitters and distributors, investors, and consumers.
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