Lagos requires 5000mw to attain power stability-Commissioner

Lagos State Government said the state would require nothing less than 5,000 megawatts (mw) of electricity to attain power stability. Mr Taofeek Tijani, Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources said this at the 2014 Ministerial Press Briefing in Ikeja.

He said the figure arose from a power audit recently conducted by the state government to ascertain the power needs of the state. Tijani, however, said only 1,000 megawatts was being supplied from the national grid to the state.

“Lagos requires 5000 megawatts of electricity. The total national generating capacity as of now is about 4000 megawatts with the state getting just 1,000. So there is a huge deficit in the state,” he said. The commissioner said the state government was building Independent Power Plants (IPPs) and taking other strategic steps to gradually address the deficit.

According to him, Alausa, Akute and Island Power plants have been completed and the three IPPs have enhanced power supply by about 35 megawatts. “The 10.4mw Alausa IPP, when commissioned, will decommission about 140 generators at the state secretariat, which now enjoys uninterrupted power supply. Island Maternity Hospital, Massey Hospital and some of the street lights on the Island, ” he said.

Tijani said that the ongoing 8.8 megawatts Ikeja IPP, and another six megawatts plant in Lekki were about to be completed. According to the commissioner, the completion of the two projects will bring the total megawatts generated from IPPs to 47mw. Tijani said the state government was partnering with some major players in the oil and gas industry to ensure adequate supply of gas to the power plants.

On solid minerals, Tijani said the government had discovered some quantities of limestone and bitumen through a geological mapping carried out in some parts of the state. Tijani, who noted that the minerals were found in little quantities, said investigation was ongoing for possible discovery of the minerals in commercial quantities. The commissioner said government had granted no fewer than 208 licences to companies to commence sand dredging operations. He said the licensing was to regulate sand mining in the state and to check illegal sand mining activities. The commissioner warned those still engaged in illegal sand mining activities to desist from the illegality. He said that offenders would be made to face the law.