Yemi Olakitan 
Since the Federal Government gave state governments autonomy to produce their own power to ensure improved power supply in the country, Lagos is one of the states that have plans in place to change its energy destinies.
The Lagos Electricity Market plan of the administration of Governor Babajide SanwoOlu aims to provide a cheaper, greener alternative to inadequate grid power. According to reports, Lagos State presently generates an estimated 15,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity through diesel generators, but a combination of gas-sourced power and off-grid solutions could potentially double the size of the state’s economy under the Lagos Electricity Market plan.
In an interview with Bustling Lagos, a Lawyer, Barrister Muniru Shittu praised Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration for all its infrastructural developments in Lagos. He said: “Lagos Energy plan will reduce the costs of doing business in Lagos, boost employment rates, increase commercial activities, and reduce crime rates.” Shittu was convinced that Lagos will be the first to achieve uninterrupted electricity in Nigeria with the new energy law reform. Speaking further, Shittu said, Lagos State had always achieved his goals through private/public partnership, a model that has set it ahead of others.
This will help it to have an independent regulatory authority as it plans that such would be substantially owned and operated by the private sector, with an independent system operator managing new gearbox. The Lagos State Government relied on Sections 13-15 of the 1999 Constitution, which places electricity on the concurrent legislative list, allowing both the federal and state governments to enact legislation.
With the new amendment to the Constitution, concerns about the Federal Government thwarting the process have diminished. Mr. Babatunde Adio, a Lagosbased business man predicted that the new legislation will definitely revolutionise Nigerian energy experience.
He opined that electricity was too important to be left alone in the hands of the Federal Government. e went down on memory lane saying the Lagos State Government, under the administration of Former Governor Bola Tinubu had sought to generate its own electricity.
He was confident that Governor Sanwo-Olu is following the same path. At a consultative forum held last year, experts stated that the commercial framework of Lagos electricity market plan, based on competitive tariffs, the participation of private sector operators, and the proposal to integrate off-grid energy solutions, makes the power plan unique.
According to reports, the Lagos State power plan under the leadership of Sanwo-Olu seeks to utilize available energy sources in the state – gas and renewable energy sources – to achieve at least 18 hours of daily supply over a period of five years, with an increase in peak energy traded in the state from 12,000-15,000MWh daily in December 2022 to 81,000MWh daily by June 2028.
Through a programme to transition Lagos’ backup genset fleet from distillate fuels to greener gas fuels; this will result in a significant reduction in backup generator emissions and the promotion of a natural gas market in Lagos. It will also incentivize licensees to adopt cleaner, commercially viable modern power generation technologies in order to provide energy to state residents.
The Lagos State Government has identify eight key requirements for a viable electricity market, including an enabling constitutional and legal framework, collaborative federal and state government support for market growth/ customer satisfaction, and an independent, credible regulatory body and an integrated resource plan.
A competitive and transparent procurement of generation resources, a bankable commercial framework, wellfunded and well-managed generation, transmission, and distribution actors, and an independent system operator are additional requirements.
The Commissioner for Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Olalere Odusote, had said in an interview that Lagos has taken active steps towards the attainment of electricity reliability for its residents. ‘‘We have made major progress towards instituting a legal and regulatory framework for the establishment of a viable Lagos State Electricity market that caters fully to the needs of its residents.
Alongside this, the Lagos State Government has developed a comprehensive Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) which outlines the framework to meet present and future electricity demand in the state in the short, medium and long term and details the most efficient and least cost method for the Lagos Electricity Market to meet the electricity demand of Lagosians in an environmentally responsible and policy-compliant manner.
The Lagos State IRP, first of its type to be prepared by the state government for state-level planning purposes, seeks to increase the overall energy security for Lagos State and provide guidance for development planning for the next 20 years to meet an anticipated 400percent increase in peak electricity demand by 2040.
By providing a 20-year outlook, the IRP will facilitate investments in the state electricity sector and ensure that the State Government makes the best short, medium and long- term energy decisions for the State and its residents whilst also providing us with the flexibility to adapt to changes in electricity demand and adopt new sustainable technologies as they become available.
These initiatives, developed in collaboration with industry stakeholders, are expected to foster investment in the industry towards improved infrastructure to drive wider access to reliable supply, reduced dependency on backup generation and ul – timately reduce cost of living and doing business in Lagos.
