The Lagos State Government, working closely with the organised private sector, has outlined a coordinated strategy to strengthen electricity supply as Nigeria transitions to a decentralised power market under the Electricity Act.
The plan was presented at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Power Sector Conference, where industry leaders examined both the opportunities and persistent challenges emerging from the ongoing reforms.
Speakers noted that while decentralisation gives states greater control to craft local solutions, it has also exposed long-standing weaknesses across the power value chain.
Biodun Ogunleye, Lagos Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, represented by Chief Technical Officer Ogunade Hamed, said the state is building a decentralised electricity market anchored on the Lagos Electricity Law, the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC), and the Integrated Resource Plan.
He stressed that Lagos is prioritising infrastructure renewal, commercial sustainability, and coordinated regulation to support industrial growth. “We cannot deliver reliability on infrastructure designed for a smaller population and an entirely different economy,” he said, noting that the grid must be upgraded to meet Lagos’s rapid economic and demographic expansion.
Ogunleye highlighted ongoing efforts such as solar retrofits for 42,000 streetlights, promoting embedded generation in industrial clusters, and strengthening regulations for mini-grids and hybrid systems. He called for deeper collaboration among operators, investors, and regulators, insisting the sector must abandon outdated practices to progress.
Gabriel Idahosa, LCCI President, agreed that decentralisation offers a rare opportunity to redesign the power sector for efficiency but warned of risks if regulation and investor confidence are not aligned. He cited unresolved challenges, unstable gas supply, weak generation, fragile transmission, and overstretched distribution networks—that continue to limit progress.
Olufemi Bakare, Chairman of the LCCI Power Group, added that Nigeria is at a turning point in its energy transition. While reforms have attracted private investment, infrastructure deficits and regulatory inconsistencies remain major hurdles. “Infrastructure optimisation is now an indispensable priority if Nigeria is to unlock generation, transmission and distribution capacity,” he said, emphasising the importance of a unified strategy for a reliable and sustainable power system.
