The Lagos State Government is to deploy not less than 10,000 units of street lights before the end of February 2017.
Already, the State Government had deployed 36,000 units under its light up Lagos initiative, bringing the total units to 46,000.
Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday at the 2016 PwC annual power & utility roundtable titled “Looking Beyond the Grid”, the commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo, explained that the major challenge facing the state in terms of Energy is inadequate gas supply “due to vandalism of pipelines in the Niger-Delta”
He told the gathering that the state is seeking alternative sources of gas supply to meet energy demands within the metropolis.
Although the Commissioner declined to give the financial cost of the street project, he however, informed the gathering that the “cost has increased”.
Speaking earlier, the special adviser to the State Governor on Oladeji Williams, said running a megacity without constant power has not been without its challenges
In a keynote address titled:“Challenges of Running a Mega City Without Power-The Lagos Experience”, said state has felt the impact of poor power in all sectors.
Williams, who presented the paper onbehalf of the Commissioner said: “With a population of less than 30 million, Egypt generates 35,000MW, while South Africa generates about 50,000MW for a population of 50 million.
“In comparison, Nigeria generates about 4,000MW for a population of over 170 million. Despite privatization and the enormous resources committed to the power sector it has continued to defy all proffered solutions the situation is compounded by recent vandalism of pipelines in the Niger Delta, huge technical and commercial losses across the value chain and as it were, the wheeling capacity of the grid is very weak because the transmission infrastructure is old, dilapidated and susceptible to frequent breakdown. It is not a smart grid.
“Current supply for Lagos is a far cry from the estimated demand of 5000MW making the topic I am here to speak on: CHALLENGES OF RUNNING A MEGA CITY WITHOUT POWER – THE LAGOS EXPERIENCE apt.
“As the commercial hub of Nigeria, we are a liveable melting pot and home to over 21 million people. These people rely on the government to provide or facilitate the development of essential utilities and efficient services in order for them to be productive in their daily endeavours.
“Running a megacity without constant power has not been without its challenges. In this current democratic dispensation (1999 to date), there has been a renaissance of sorts in Lagos. Lagos has aggressively forged a development path and created a model in its provision of social services. However, the much needed traction has not been fully realized due to lack of power.
“Lagos has felt the impact of poor power in all sectors; inefficient public service, non-conducive learning environment in our academic institutions, poor health care delivery, long delays in processing at our courts, redundant waterworks, night time insecurity and difficulty commuting at night because our roads were dark are just a few in the myriad of challenges running a city without reliable power.
“Similarly, economic activities have been adversely affected. Multinationals, industries and small businesses trying to get return on investment are suffocated by huge overheads on account of poor power supply. The Lagos economy has lost significant industrial and commercial entities due to lack of energy and also have had some difficulty in attracting new investments because of power supply stakeholder’s inability to address this quagmire.
“In the Nigerian Constitution, power is on the exclusive list which means the state government has very limited control of power especially as it pertains to the national grid. So Lagos has had to be creative in finding a solution which necessitated in the development of the state’s captive power initiative. Captive Power is essentially energy that is generated with independent distribution developed for a sole consumer exclusive of national grid use.
“Through this, we successfully proved that government and private sector can collectively deliver on power within the local context. To date five Independent Captive Power Plants have been built and commissioned with an accumulated capacity of 47.5Megawatts of electricity which provides power to enable government deliver better services and free up power to the grid. These IPP’s power public facilities i.e offices, hospitals, water works, schools and public lighting.
“As part of our energy mix, the state has a laudable renewable energy partnership programme with the UK, Department for International Development (DFID) where dedicated solar power solutions have been implemented for public facilities. 4.59 MW of sustainable solar power has been delivered to 172 public Secondary Schools and 11 Public Health centres located within rural and riverine areas.
“With these power plants, the state government has been able to improve on its provision of social services. The public service has been more productive, health care facilities are now properly run using modern equipment, our wards are getting better access to quality education through a more conducive learning environment, we have a more efficient justice system, we can power our waterworks, we now have a 24/7 security command centre and our roads are illuminated at night through streetlights and public lighting, improving visibility and complementing security within the state.
“While Captive Independent Power Plant’s have been a success, we have not been able to achieve maximum coverage of public facilities. There remains a deficit that needs to be bridged in powering public facilities as well as providing constant power commercially across the state.
“For the state government, operating these IPP’s in recent times has had a tremendous impact on budget. Gas supply shortages due to vandalism of pipelines in the Niger-Delta has compounded budgetary and logistical challenges within the value chain.
“With our status as the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, Lagos State has millions of homes and businesses within its borders with a huge demand for Energy.
“Nationally, the current power generated hovers around 4,000MW. Of which, a significant amount is lost in transmission and distribution. This is grossly inefficient and inadequate giving insight on the enormity of the challenge as well as the vast opportunities that abound within the sector,
“We have developed a wealth of practical experience in the gas to power value chain but, beyond powering our own facilities, the next level for the Ambode administration is to collaborate with stakeholders in the power sector towards achieving 24 hours power supply to the people of Lagos State.
“The Lagos State Government currently has the most holistic and aggressive energy development initiatives in Nigeria. It is the first state with a dedicated Ministry for Energy Development (Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources), which is committed to strategically partnering with energy stakeholders to meet the demands of power supply in a sustainable and socio- economic manner.
“We are eager to leverage off the extensive knowledge and experience in this room in ensuring we close the energy sector gap particular with regards to the Lagos State Energy Development policy also referred to as “Light Up Lagos”.
“Light Up Lagos is the turnkey policy of the Lagos State Government to deliver constant, safe and reliable energy to the metropolis by powering homes, businesses and public facilities with the aim of complementing security, improving quality of living standards and ensuring sustainable socio-economic development within its borders.
“It is an initiative birthed under the sterling leadership of His Excellency, The Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and envisioned as a catalyst for accelerated development across the state.
“The components of the Light-Up-Lagos Energy Development Policy include; • Embedded Power – working with energy stakeholders to ensure 24/7 power within Lagos • Community Electrification Intervention – upgrading or installing new on and off grid power infrastructure that energize Lagos communities • Streetlighting – improving night-time economic activities, night-time illumination, and night-time security across the state.
“Clearly, these components afford huge partnership opportunities to local and global energy solutions providers with the state government, in achieving its Energy Development objectives.
“To this end, a roundtable for all stakeholders in the Lagos power sector tagged, “Light Up Lagos Power Advisory Committee” was inaugurated by His Excellency, The Governor of Lagos, a year ago. The Light Up Lagos Power Advisory Committee is made up of Gencos, the two Discos, Gas suppliers and other key stakeholders at senior level. The findings by said committee necessitated the need to birth a technical committee which has been working for months now on all technical aspects to achieve a sustainable solution to the energy demand exclusively for Lagos.
“Embedded Power Generation comes into focus when looking at the subject of today’s roundtable ‘LOOKING BEYOND THE GRID’. In more detail, Embedded Power Generation is energy that is generated and injected into substations at distribution network level to feed a specific area/locality within the concessioned turf of the distribution companies, exclusive of national grid and bypassing the transmission network.
“Energy is the major catalyst for economic development and an enabler for all sectors and industries. Our nation can leap frog into first world status with reliable energy and the much needed revenue diversification of the economy can be achieved at this inauspicious time. We can reinvigorate manufacturing, deploy modern security apparatus using smart city solutions, provide world-class infrastructure and grow the economy exponentially through job creation opportunities and prosperity to all”.
