The Lagos State Government is seeking to turn its huge electricity demand into a bankable market capable of attracting investment in generation and distribution, as the government targets about 3.5 gigawatts to tackle persistent power shortages across the state.
The plan was discussed on Thursday at the Lagos State High-Level Strategic Power Town Hall, where government officials, regulators, electricity operators and investors examined why the state continues to receive less than one gigawatt from a national grid capable of transmitting considerably more.
The gap between available supply and Lagos’ electricity needs formed the central concern of the meeting, with officials arguing that simply adding generation capacity would not resolve the problem without a functioning system for contracting, delivering, metering and paying for electricity.
The Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, Rilwan Babalola, said Lagos now had an opportunity to demonstrate what a commercially viable electricity market could look like under Nigeria’s emerging decentralised power regime.
He said the proposed Clean Lagos Electricity Market would initially test a 500MW model built around aggregating demand, contracting directly with power suppliers, guaranteeing payment and allowing electricity to move through an open-access network.
