Lagos to stimulate investment via embedded power scheme

The Lagos state government has said that it is determined to meet its electricity challenges head on by stimulating investment in the state through its embedded power scheme.

Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in the state, Mr. Olawale Oluwo, made this assertion during the annual ministerial press briefing in commemoration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s second year in office.

According to him, “beyond powering its own public facilities with the already established independent power plants delivering a combined 47.5MW, the state intends to stimulate investment through this initiative with the generation of 3000MW of power through accelerated deployment of embedded or distributed power plants in strategic locations within three to five years to drive our economy and bring additional electricity to millions of homes and businesses.”

Oluwo said the state government was in partnership with major international and local industry key players in the power sector to provide a platform for uninterrupted power supply to its citizenry.

He said with the collaboration, the state was using the strength of its balance sheet to guarantee the deployment of off-grid modular plants of between 20MW to 100MW strategically spread within clusters close to reliable sustainable sources of electricity and power evacuation substation for the exclusive benefit of Lagos residents.

The commissioner added that the ‘Light Up Lagos’ scheme had been streamlined into three broad areas, namely; street lighting electrification, community electrification and embedded power electrification. He stressed that the provision of street lights from Oshodi to Apapa was ongoing, while provision of street lights from Mile 2 to Apapa would soon start, stating that the outsourcing of street lights in the state had been spread among 54 companies.
Oluwo added that four communities which had been hitherto unconnected to the national grid for 17 years would be connected to the grid before the end of the year. The communities concerned, all located in Badagry are: Obese (Sea Beach), Ikere, Ilado and Obada. He said the aim was to ensure 1000mw of electricity in the state, before the end of the tenure of Governor Ambode, while there is a long-term projection of generating 3000MW of electricity in six to seven years’ time across the state.