Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has announced plans to establish an electricity regulatory agency aimed at overseeing the operations of electricity distribution companies (DisCos) within the state.
Speaking during a media chat on Thursday, Governor Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the agency would be modeled after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Highlighting the significance of this move, Governor Sanwo-Olu emphasized that with the recent unbundling of the Electricity Act, Lagos occupies a unique position to institute reforms in the electricity sector.
He underscored the importance of collaboration with the two DisCos operating in the state, namely Ikeja DisCo and Eko DisCo.
“We have two distribution companies that are not entangled with any other state (Ikeja DisCo and Eko DisCo). We’re working with them. We realize that we need to collaborate with them for us to have a lasting solution,” Governor Sanwo-Olu stated.
“So we have designed a Lagos state electricity bill that is gone to the house of assembly now. And that bill fashions out how we want to unbundle and untangle the relationship that currently exists with Ikeja and Eko DisCos so that other players can call into it, we can make the atmosphere investment friendly, and everybody can have a play in it.
“We’re setting up our equivalent of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the rest of it. And so, they know that is what we’re going to do. It’s that law that we are waiting for the house to pass, and they are happy with us, they will have input into the law.”
Once the law is passed, Governor Sanwo-Olu expects new investments in both electricity generation and distribution sectors.
“They still have capacity to also grow and the willing buyer willing seller concept work will play better. There will be a lot more investment around gas, and other alternative sources of energy,” he said.
He said the state is well primed for facilitating electricity supply but because the environment was not ‘new entrant friendly’, the state could not proceed with its initiatives.
Sanwo-Olu, however, said the obstacle has been removed with the passage of the Electricity Act.
