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By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Federal Government and Lagos State have moved to the implementation stage of the planned 24/7 electricity supply to the Lagos corridor, with the constitution of a joint technical committee to resolve the grid, distribution and regulatory bottlenecks that have frustrated reliable power supply to businesses and households.
The move is significant as the Federal Government seeks to make Lagos the first test case of its 24/7 Energy Zones initiative, designed to guarantee more reliable electricity supply to Nigeria’s major commercial and industrial corridors.
The initiative, approved by President Bola Tinubu, will subsequently cover the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed the development after a high-level technical meeting with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and senior officials of both governments at the Lagos House, Marina.
Tegbe said the Federal Ministry of Power had already engaged the electricity distribution companies operating along the Lagos corridor and secured commitments from them to take more power and provide more reliable electricity to customers.
He said the Federal Government was ready to work with Lagos State across four priority areas approved by the President—grid stabilisation, market liquidity, grid expansion, and governance and regulatory harmonisation.
The emphasis on increased offtake by the DisCos is expected to be critical to the success of the pilot, as the delivery of 24/7 electricity will depend not only on the availability of generation but also on the capacity of the transmission and distribution networks to evacuate and deliver power to paying customers.
To drive implementation, Tegbe announced the establishment of a Joint Technical Committee chaired by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Energy.
The committee comprises representatives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC), Lagos State Independent System Operator (LAISO), Lagos State Electricity Authority (LSEA) and the Office of the Minister of Power.
The committee will be responsible for identifying the technical and regulatory obstacles to reliable supply and recommending specific actions required to move the Lagos pilot from policy commitment to actual delivery.
Its recommendations will be submitted to a Steering Committee chaired by Governor Sanwo-Olu and co-chaired by Tegbe.
Members of the Steering Committee include the Special Adviser to the President on Power, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy.
Sanwo-Olu, who commended the Federal Government for what he described as its seriousness towards resolving the electricity crisis, said Lagos was prepared to work with the Federal Government to develop practical solutions for the sector.
The governor said the state was particularly interested in creating a bankable, collaborative and competitive electricity market capable of supporting businesses and improving the quality of life of residents.
He also commended Tegbe, noting that since assuming office as Minister of Power, he had demonstrated a willingness and capacity to confront some of the longstanding challenges confronting the sector.
The Lagos pilot is expected to provide a test of the Federal Government’s strategy of concentrating electricity-sector interventions around major economic corridors, rather than treating power supply challenges solely as a national grid-wide problem.
The approach brings together the Federal Ministry of Power, NERC, TCN, NISO, REA and the Lagos electricity authorities, with the state government expected to provide the regulatory and institutional support required to improve electricity delivery within the corridor.
The meeting was attended by the Special Adviser to the President on Power, Dr Lanre Babalola; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Alh Mahmuda Mamman; Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat; Commissioner for Energy, Biodun Ogunleye; and the Managing Directors of TCN, NISO and REA, among other senior officials.
