FG, Lagos to deliver 24/7 power through energy zones

File: Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe.

The Federal Government and the Lagos State Government have agreed to work together to deliver stable and reliable electricity to Lagos as part of the proposed 24/7 Energy Zones pilot.

The Ministry of Power disclosed this in a statement on Monday following a high-level technical meeting between the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, and the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Lagos House, Marina.

The ministry said the 24/7 Energy Zones pilot, approved by President Bola Tinubu, would commence in Lagos and extend to the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors, with the aim of providing a framework for scaling up reliable power supply across major commercial and industrial centres in the country.

According to the statement, Tegbe said the Ministry of Power had engaged the electricity distribution companies and secured commitments from them to offtake more power and provide steady and reliable electricity to customers along the Lagos corridor.

“The Ministry had engaged and secured commitments from the distribution companies to offtake more power and deliver steady and reliable electricity to customers along the Lagos corridor.

Tegbe also expressed the ministry’s readiness to collaborate with the Lagos State Government on four priority areas approved by the President, namely grid stabilisation, market liquidity, grid expansion, and governance and regulatory harmonisation.

The statement quoted Sanwo-Olu as commending the Federal Government delegation for its commitment to resolving challenges in the electricity sector. The governor said since coming on board as minister, “Tegbe has shown the willingness and capacity to resolve lingering issues in the sector”.

Sanwo-Olu declared that Lagos is also committed to finding practical solutions to the challenges affecting the electricity market, stressing the need for a collaborative approach.

“We need to work out pragmatic solutions to make the sector work for Nigerians, and Lagosians in particular, creating a bankable, collaborative and competitive electricity market in Lagos,” the governor was quoted as saying.

The ministry said the meeting agreed on measures to move the energy zones initiative from commitment to implementation, including the establishment of a joint technical committee.

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It said the committee would be responsible for addressing outstanding technical and operational issues and recommending the next steps for the implementation of the initiative.

The committee will report to a steering committee headed by Sanwo-Olu and co-chaired by Tegbe.

The Special Adviser to the President on Power, Dr Lanre Babalola; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Alh Mahmuda Mamman; and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy, Biodun Ogunleye, are members of the steering committee.

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat; and the managing directors of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Nigerian Independent System Operator and Rural Electrification Agency, alongside senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Government.

Last week, the Federal Government said it had begun engagements with electricity distribution companies to develop energy zones aimed at delivering 24-hour electricity supply to homes, businesses and industries in major demand centres across the country.

Tegbe held a closed-door meeting with the leadership of selected distribution companies to discuss the proposed initiative, which targets the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors.

The meeting was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the minister’s media aide, Adeola Adelabu.

The statement read, “In furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to deliver reliable electricity to Nigerians, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has held a strategic closed-door meeting with the leadership of select electricity distribution companies over the proposed Energy Zones, designed to deliver stable, 24-hour power supply to homes, businesses and industries in the country’s highest-demand areas, namely Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port-Harcourt.”

The initiative was designed to address electricity distribution constraints and ensure that power generated and transmitted to the national grid reaches consumers more reliably, particularly in areas with high commercial and industrial demand.