Assembly set to strengthen electricity generation in Lagos

By Tope Musowo

Lagos

A bill that would strengthen electricity generation and distribution in Lagos State and the country in general is at the verge of being passed into law by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
When it comes into force, Lagos state would be able to generate and accelerate embedded power supply in the state.
According to its sponsors, the power project would bring a new lease of life to the electricity consumers in the state who would enjoy uninterrupted power supply.
The bill, which went through public hearing on Wednesday and was described by stakeholders as a good development for the state, is entitled, “Lagos State Electric Power Sector Reform Bill”.
According to the Chairman of the Adhoc Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the House, Hon. Folajimi Mohammed, the state has obtained a no-objection from the federal government to generate, distribute and transmit electricity through embedded power supply.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun, described the power project bill as impactful and added that it would have multiplier effect on the economy of the state.
Reviewing the Bill, the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, emphasized its importance, noting that electricity is the bane of the development and growth of Nigeria.
A stakeholder at the Public Hearing, Mr. Aina Adeyemi of Adeyemi Aina & Co, advised that the law should address the issue of illegal connection and diversion of electricity.
“Even some rich people and others remove their air conditioners and other devices from the meter and connect it to the pole directly. This leads to 28 percent losses for distribution companies.
“The state government should partner with meter product companies on the project. There should be a special court and police for energy offenders as it is done in a country like Egypt,” he said.
The state Commissioner for Energy and Natural Resources, Hon. Wale Oluwo, stated that the bill was put together to provide a legal framework to make the project a law of the state.
Oluwo added that the state government plans to provide power for the state on a sustainable basis, adding that embedded power is fairly strange to the state, but that it would achieve it’s aim on the long run.
“We used to provide electricity to power government agencies. Now, we want to power private homes and offices. We are planning to generate electricity and pass to EKO Distribution Company and Ikeja DisCo.
“The Bill has 45 parts, we will ensure that power gets to the people. We have not had good electricity in Nigeria for 50 years. We will help the DisCos to meter everybody and stop estimation. Electricity would be on pre- paid basis and people would either pay through recharge card or online.

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