Fidelia Okafor.

The Lagos State government has restated its resolve to achieve sufficient energy generation.

The Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode said that the quest by Nigeria to achieve energy security could no longer be left for government alone.

He revealed plans by the state to attain 24-hour power supply through generation of 3000 megawatts of electricity by 2022.

Governor  Ambode was speaking after receiving the report of the Embedded Power Technical Committee.
According to him, as the Nigerian Government intensifies efforts to resolve the power crisis, “the solution should be geared towards pulling together commitment and resources of all the stakeholders in the power value chain.”

“The reason why we embarked on this initiative is that we believe strongly that if the power problem is solved in Lagos, it is technically solved in the whole country,because Lagos has more or less tested a solution that works, we can scale this up and also address it on a national scale.

“The problem of power in Nigeria is transmission and that is the truth. Yes, we have generating companies and distributing companies and they say power is in the hands of the private sector, but we know technically that that is not totally true,” Ambode explained.
The state government has been running a power generation test, which has proven that the stage is set for such a feat.

“We know that transmission is 100 percent by government, but we have tested here in Lagos and we have been able to provide 48 kilowatts of power without transmitting it which means that we generate and then distribute.

“So, if that works for 48 kilowatts, can we put Lagos into clusters and actually use embedded power initiative to drive the business of Lagos? That is what this initiative is all about.

“I want to thank all the stakeholders for submitting their business templates into what government sees as the right step to take so that we can join hands together to say in the next two to five years, we can actually power Lagos and then grow our Gross Domestic Product,”  Governor stated.

“Out of the 3000MW, 350MW will be delivered by Q1 2018, additional 850MW by Q4 2018 and the balance of 1,800MW not later Q3 2022 while the State Government will support the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to be signed between the Distribution Companies and the embedded power providers, to enhance bankability of the projects,” the Governor stressed.

According to him “the embedded power will be distributed off-grid within Lagos State through the network of Eko and Ikeja Distribution Companies, while the State Government will support the Distribution Companies in upgrading their distribution infrastructure and installation of smart prepaid meters in the areas where embedded power is deployed.”

Other areas of collaboration include support for collection, appropriate legislation and enforcement of power theft laws.

He added that alternative sources of fuel would be explored to sustain uninterrupted power supply in the medium to long term, including partnerships on investments in gas pipeline infrastructure through the State’s owned oil and gas Corporation, Ibile Oil and Gas.

Responding on behalf of Distribution Companies (DISCOS), Chairman of Eko Distribution Company, Mr. Charles Momoh commended Governor Ambode for the embedded power initiative, saying “it is the best thing that has happened to Lagos State in recent times.”

He also expressed the confidence of DISCOS in the ability of the Governor to see to the success of the initiative.