Biodun Ogunleye, the commissioner of energy and mineral resources in Lagos, says the state government is planning to eliminate the classification of electricity customers into bands.
Ogunleye spoke on Monday during an inter-ministerial
briefing organised to highlight the achievements of the administration of
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, in the energy sector in the last one
year.
During the press briefing, the energy commissioner was asked
to react to how some communities in the Aboru area of the state are placed in
Band D with less than three hours power supply on a daily basis.
The commissioner responded that the state government is
working to create an environment that eliminates the classification of
electricity customers into bands.
“Let me say this, part of what we are trying to enable is an
environment that eliminates banding. Banding says that you have 3, 8, 12, or 21
hours of light,” Ogunleye said.
“We are saying that — is it impossible to have continuous
power supply? Mr Governor has thrown the challenge and even repeated it again.
Is it impossible to have 24-hour power supply?
“I strongly believe that we can do it. We have seen it
before in this city. Banding is not what we want to focus our attention on.”
The energy commissioner also said the state government is
targeting an additional 2,000 megawatts of embedded power generation through
partnerships with private investors.
He said residents in Lagos could begin to witness improved
electricity supply from embedded power projects within the next six to 12
months.
Ogunleye said the state government believes that it should
create the enabling environment for the private sector to be involved in
electricity generation and distribution rather than directly operating power
plants.
“We are working with various providers with the target of
ensuring embedded power generation within the Lagos environment,” Ogunleye
said.
“We cannot continue to depend entirely on the federal
government. We must have a stable and productive Lagos.
“Without electricity, there will be zero development and our
people’s opportunities will not be maximised.”
Ogunleye also said that Lagos currently has 12 independent
power producers under regulation, with seven already fully operational
commercially.
The commissioner said the state had also rehabilitated 37.7
kilometres of 132KV power lines along Badagry, Epe and other critical corridors
to improve network reliability and regional connectivity.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com