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Following the recent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Lagos and 11 other states have now concluded plans to start generating power in their respective domains in conformity with the Electricity Act 2023.
The states are stepping up efforts to take advantage of the new Electricity Act to establish their electricity generation firms.
The new act permits the state electricity board or any state authority by whatever appellation, to grant licence for mini-grids and provide the framework for the operation of such licensees.
This means that the federal government has succeeded in removing electricity from the exclusive list, allowing states and private individuals to invest in the sector.
Implication
A source who spoke with newsmen recently noted that the states will be on their own. The source added that this will allow them to generate, transmit and distribute power within their states only.
He added:
“Some of them who have been generating power before the act can now commercialise it and even grant licences to investors to invest in their states.”
The Lagos Angle
Gbenga Omotosho, the state commissioner for information and strategy, said on Thursday, April 4, that Lagos had been at the forefront of championing independent electricity supply since the passing of its Electricity Act.
Omotoshosho said the state began to generate power when President Bola Tinubu was governor. He added that the state experienced some constraints then, but it did not give up on its mission.
His words: “Lagos has been at the forefront of unbundling power generation and power distribution systems. Lagos was the very first to start an independent power project in the days of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as governor, who is now our President.”
He said although the project could not fly then due to some constraints, Lagos did not give up.
“For Lagos State, everything is being put in place to ensure that our people can enjoy stable electricity. We are all for it because it’s about our people.
“We’re having discussions with so many entities in the private sector on how Lagos can generate its electricity, and people have been showing interest.”
Other states making similar moves include Ekiti, Benue, Nasarawa, Kano, Zamfara, Sokoto, Ondo, Osun, Kebbi and a few others.
Recall that in October 2014, former Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) officially commissioned the Mainland Power Plant, an Independent Power Project owned and operated by CET Power.
The 8.8MW Power Plant, strategically located at the Lagos State Electricity Board, GRA Ikeja and operating through an Independent Distribution Network, was aimed at providing reliable and dedicated electricity to key Lagos State Government facilities and infrastructure including but not limited to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) and Lagos State University, College of Medicine (LASUCOM); Area “F” Police Command; Lagos State Works Yard; Lagos High Court; Office of the Chief Judge; The Presidency; Code of Conduct Bureau; The Lagos State Water Corporation ; Old Secretariat Complex; The Newly Developed Lagos State Housing Estate; Eko Engineering Limited etc.