MICHAEL AKINOLA
The Federal Government and the Lagos State Government have agreed to work together to deliver stable and reliable electricity to the Lagos corridor, as the 24/7 Energy Zones pilot approved by President Bola Tinubu officially kicks off.
The agreement was reached at a high-level technical session held at the Lagos House, Marina, between the Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, and the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, alongside senior officials from both governments.
The session was convened as part of efforts to address persistent blackouts affecting households, small businesses and industrial clusters, particularly in Lagos, which remains Nigeria’s major commercial and industrial hub.
According to officials at the meeting, the 24/7 Energy Zones pilot will start in Lagos and will subsequently be extended to the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and the Enugu-Port Harcourt corridor, giving it a clear path to scale across other major commercial and industrial centres in the country.
Speaking at the session, the Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, said the Ministry has engaged electricity distribution companies and secured commitments from them to offtake more power and ensure steady and reliable electricity supply to customers along the Lagos corridor. He explained that the move is aimed at bridging the gap between available generation capacity and actual supply to end users.
Tegbe reaffirmed the Ministry’s readiness to work closely with Lagos State on the four Ministerial priority areas approved by the President. He listed the priority areas as Grid Stabilization, Market Liquidity, Grid Expansion, and Governance and Regulatory Harmonization, adding that progress in these areas is critical to achieving sustainable and bankable power supply in Lagos and across Nigeria.
In his remarks, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu commended the federal delegation for its seriousness and commitment to resolving lingering challenges in the power sector. He noted that since assuming office as Minister of Power, Mr. Tegbe has shown willingness and capacity to address critical issues in the sector.
The Governor said Lagos State is equally committed to the partnership and stressed the need to work out pragmatic and sustainable solutions that will make the power sector work for Nigerians, and for Lagosians in particular. He added that the objective is to create a collaborative and competitive electricity market in Lagos that is attractive to investors, efficient for operators and affordable for consumers.
To move the partnership from commitment to delivery, the Minister announced the constitution of a Joint Technical Committee that will be responsible for examining technical, commercial and regulatory issues and proposing next steps for implementation.
The Joint Technical Committee is 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 and Mineral Resources. Members of the committee are drawn from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission, LASERC, the Lagos State Independent System Operator, LAISO, the Lagos State Electricity Agency, LSEA, and the Office of the Honourable Minister of Power.
The Technical Committee will report to a Steering Committee chaired by the Governor of Lagos State and co-chaired by the Minister of Power. Other 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 and Mineral Resources.
Also present at the meeting were the Special Adviser to the President on Power, Dr. Lanre Babalola; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Alhaji Mahmuda Mamman; the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat; the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Biodun Ogunleye; the Managing Directors of TCN, NISO and REA; and other senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Government.
Officials said the Lagos corridor remains central to the success of the initiative, given its huge population, high concentration of industries and markets, and its strategic importance to Nigeria’s economy.