Fed govt secures DisCos’ commitment to improve power supply in Lagos

By Ambrose Nnaji

The Federal Government and Lagos State have agreed to coordinate efforts to improve electricity supply along the Lagos corridor under a 24/7 Energy Zones pilot approved by President Bola Tinubu.

The agreement followed a technical meeting in Lagos, between Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, alongside senior officials from both governments.

The pilot is set to begin in Lagos and extend to the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano and Enugu–Port Harcourt corridors, with the aim of improving supply to major commercial and industrial centres.

Tegbe said the Federal Ministry of Power had secured commitments from distribution companies to offtake more electricity and provide more reliable service to customers along the Lagos corridor. He said the ministry was ready to work with Lagos on four presidential priorities: grid stabilisation, market liquidity, grid expansion, and governance and regulatory harmonisation.

Sanwo-Olu welcomed the federal delegation and said Lagos was committed to finding practical solutions to the state’s electricity challenges. He said cooperation was needed to build a bankable, collaborative and competitive electricity market in Lagos.

To coordinate the work, Tegbe announced a joint technical committee to address outstanding issues and recommend next steps. The committee will report to a steering committee headed by Sanwo-Olu and co-chaired by the power minister. Its members will 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.

Also at the meeting were Special Adviser to the President on Power Lanre Babalola; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power Mahmuda Mamman; Lagos Deputy Governor Kadiri Obafemi Hamzat; Lagos Commissioner for Energy Biodun Ogunleye; and the managing directors of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), and Rural Electrification Agency (REA), among other officials.