DIPLOMAN TIMES

Lagos State has held a ministerial implementation retreat on the Clean Lagos Electricity Market with the Federal Government and key power-sector stakeholders, focusing on the infrastructure, investment and regulatory requirements for more reliable electricity supply.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Lagos requires more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity and that the state's objective is to develop a more reliable and sustainable electricity market capable of moving it towards 24-hour power supply. He made the remarks on October 5 while discussing the implementation of the Clean Lagos Electricity Market with the Federal Government and other stakeholders.

Sanwo-Olu welcomed the Minister of Power, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, to the implementation retreat and said the discussions addressed the challenges affecting electricity supply in Lagos and the measures needed to improve the situation. The focus was therefore on implementation requirements rather than an assertion that the state's electricity challenges had already been resolved.

The Governor identified investment in embedded and off-grid generation, improved transmission and distribution and an effective regulatory framework as key components of the state's approach. He also said better gas supply was necessary for power generation and pointed to the federal Electricity Act 2023 and Lagos Electricity Law 2024 as providing legal backing for addressing grid bottlenecks.

Federal institutions including the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and Rural Electrification Agency were among the stakeholders acknowledged by the Governor. Their participation reflects the need for coordination across generation, transmission, distribution, regulation and alternative electricity supply as Lagos develops its electricity market.

Sanwo-Olu said the ultimate measure of the programme would be whether Lagos residents and businesses experience more reliable electricity. The Clean Lagos Electricity Market therefore remains an implementation framework through which the state is seeking to address supply constraints, attract investment and improve electricity reliability, with the stated long-term objective of moving towards 24-hour power availability.