We‘ll soon overcome electricity blackout — Lagos government

The Lagos State Electricity Bill 2024, which is before the state House of Assembly, will end blackouts in the state.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunlewe, gave the assurance at a one-day public hearing on the bill at the assembly complex on Wednesday.

NAN reported that the Bill for a Law to Repeal the Lagos State Power Sector Reform Law 2018 is to provide for the creation and administration of the Lagos electricity market and related matters.

On March 17, 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law a constitutional amendment that allowed states in the country to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid.

Ogunlewe said that the bill, if passed into law, would allow the state government to generate, transmit and distribute electricity directly to end users.

The commissioner said that all electricity users in the state would have access to quality electricity within two years after signing the bill into law.

“We believe that the passage is the beginning of the revolution that Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has promised the people of the state.

“We are going to witness where the state grid will operate in such a way that we are not encountering the challenges that come from a largely single source.

“The first thing the people of Lagos should expect from this bill is provisions in respect of other operators coming into the market and in respect of environmental friendliness.

“At present, there are issues not allowing the operators to do their businesses but they have been resolved in this bill,” he said.