The Federal Government and the Lagos State Government have established joint committees to drive measures aimed at achieving 24-hour electricity supply in the state.
The initiative was announced on Monday at the Ministerial Implementation Retreat on the Clean Lagos Electricity Market held at Lagos House, Marina.
Speaking at the retreat, the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the focus must shift from discussions to practical measures that would improve electricity supply to consumers.
Tegbe said Lagos had been selected as a pilot for the initiative because the state accounts for between 40 and 50 per cent of Nigeria’s electricity demand, making it central to efforts to improve power supply along major economic corridors.
“We came with pragmatic solutions. Some of them are going to take action immediately — quick wins. I believe that Nigerians will start to see some differences in the Lagos axis as far as power supply is actually manifested,” the minister said.
The retreat led to the establishment of a Joint Technical Working Committee comprising representatives of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Federal Ministry of Power, Lagos Independent System Operator and Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The committee will be co-chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and the Managing Director of the Lagos Independent System Operator.
A separate Steering Committee was also established to oversee implementation. It will be chaired by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, with Tegbe serving as co-chairman.
Other members include the Special Adviser to the President on Power, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy, Biodun Ogunleye.
The committees are expected to address the technical, regulatory and operational challenges limiting electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Lagos.
The Federal Government said the approach would begin with Lagos before being extended to the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt economic corridors.
The initiative comes as the Lagos State Government continues efforts to develop a more decentralised electricity market and reduce dependence on the national grid.
The Lagos State Electricity Law 2024 provides the legal framework for a state-regulated electricity market, covering areas including generation, distribution, supply, transmission, system operation and electricity trading.
The state has also pursued additional power generation through private-sector partnerships. In April, it signed power purchase agreements with Mainland Power Limited, Fenchurch Power Limited and Viathan Engineering to improve electricity supply to critical infrastructure and other parts of the state.
The agreements were designed to strengthen locally available power while addressing weaknesses in previous arrangements, with the state indicating that payments would be tied to electricity actually supplied and metered.
Sanwo-Olu described Monday’s retreat as “very frank” and said officials had identified what he called “low-hanging fruits” capable of delivering visible improvements to electricity consumers.
He said the meeting, which lasted almost four hours, brought together senior officials from the Federal Government and Lagos State, including representatives of TCN, NERC and other key players in the electricity market.
The governor said the newly established Steering Committee would help accelerate the implementation of decisions reached at the retreat.
The initiative is also expected to serve as a model for tackling electricity challenges in other major economic corridors identified by the Federal Government.
Tegbe said the immediate focus would be on practical interventions capable of improving electricity supply in Lagos, after which the approach could be replicated in other parts of the country.
The success of the initiative will ultimately depend on whether the committees can translate the latest government commitments into increased generation, improved transmission and distribution capacity, and more reliable electricity for residents and businesses.
