Public expectations from Lagos State new electricity bill

The recent public hearing by the Lagos State House of Assembly on the proposed new electricity law for the state could not have come at a better time, given the state’s position as the country’s number one economic hub.

If anything, the government needs to accelerate the process of setting up its own electricity generation, transmission and distribution system. Lagos presently may be enjoying more electricity power supply than most other states, but it can do much better to fulfil the domestic, industrial, and social yearnings of its population of more than 20 million people.

For years, the state has struggled to lead in the provision of power through several means, including the use of private generators using petroleum products especially diesel, which has become so expensive as to render the operations economically unviable. Clearly, nothing short of standard electricity project is required for a rapidly expanding conurbation, and an aspiring megacity like the state. In fact, Lagos Sate alone can conveniently utilise the entire 4,500 megawatts that the whole country has been struggling to produce and distribute for about 20 years. It is therefore commendable that the state is joining four other states, namely Enugu, Ondo, Ekiti and Imo states to seek full independent status as major providers of electricity.

No doubt, the state is leveraging on the 2023 Electricity Act that seeks to liberalise the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, away from the old constitutional order that largely centralised the functions to the federal government. Like the four other states, Lagos can only apply to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission for an independent electricity regulatory body after its bill has been passed.

Geared towards taking advantage of the 2023 Electricity Act, the bill aims to address electricity challenges, improve energy sustainability and foster economic growth in the state. Speaking at the public hearing of the bill, the Chairman of the Lagos State House Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources, Sabur Oluwa, said the bill aims to provide the creation and administration of the Lagos electricity market. Also, to create a commercial and technical regulatory framework for the electricity market and set up the state electrification fund to ensure reliable electricity supply to the unserved and underserved areas in the state.

Oluwa emphasised that under the 1999 Constitution, which has placed electricity on the concurrent list, the bill proposes to establish the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Authority to oversee the electricity market in the state, ensuring efficient and sustainable electricity. It hopes to create a Lagos State Electricity Agency to manage public electricity work and infrastructure, as well as the Lagos State Electrification Fund. The institutions are geared at playing a pivotal role in the delivery of reliable electricity to our 21st century and underserved areas of Lagos State.

Given that reliable electricity is a necessity and backbone of economic growth, social development, and improvement of standards, the Lagos initiative, if well executed, is capable of bridging the gap in electricity supply and enhancing the quality of life for all Lagosians. “Therefore, this bill is not just about electricity. It is about empowering people, fostering economic development, and ensuring that Lagos has access to electricity at a wide scale,” Oluwa explained. The bill will repeal the existing 2018 power sector reform law.

Beyond this, government hopes to improve energy sustainability, foster economic growth and address several challenges facing the energy sector. It is an understatement that over the years, electricity supply in the country, whether in generation, transmission or distribution has become dismal and a dilemma for Nigerians, who have watched helplessly as their private lives dwindle in quality; as small and medium enterprises suffer recession, and as big companies, including multi-nationals succumbed to the energy crisis and its attendant huge costs. Many companies fold up or relocate to countries with less inclement working environment.

It is rather shameful that only a few states are so far taking advantage of the new Electricity Act of 2023, despite having been in existence for more than a year; and despite high public demand for decentralisation. It is important for other states to queue into the scheme, even as the federal and state governments make conscious effort to provide a conducive environment to attract private investors. All hands must be on deck to put Nigeria on sound industrial footing, improve the country’s economy, engage Nigerians with meaningful employment and lift them out of the present suffocating poverty.

One of the more recent complications on electricity generation and distribution is the vandalism of electricity infrastructure, including transformers and cables. The Lagos State Government and indeed all others will do well to make special provisions, not only to safeguard public utilities, but also to bring violators to book, as a deterrence to other prospective violators. Vandalism of public utilities, including electricity infrastructure, is deplorable and should not be tolerated in any form. If other countries can successfully protect their public equipment, there is no reason why Nigeria’s fate should be different.

All the states getting involved in electricity production should explore available information on the use of solar and other less conventional means to generate power. This becomes relevant with the increasingly high cost of diesel and petrol; as well as their decreasing availability in the Nigerian market. While these are directly traceable to the country’s importation dependency, rather than local production, it must be borne in mind that the world is steadily migrating away from fossil to non-fossil power production.