THE ISLAND COMES TO LIGHT – GOV. BRF

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State

A thinking government is a winning government. And when a leader decides to focus on the fundamental needs of his people, success is assured at the end of the day. Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola has started on a good note be driving full throttle at ensuring the success of power generation in Lagos State. The good news to all “Lagosians” is the commissioning of the Island Power Project. This is the first phase of a series of other power projects in the State.

The Island Power project promises to improve electricity supply from 36% to 100% (in otherwords, 24 hours of non-failure of power supply) As part of Lagos State Government’s aggressive infrastructure development program, Power Sector Development (PSD) has been identified as a crucial issue. LASG has a Power Committee chaired by the Attorney General, Mr. Supo Shasore (SAN), which is dedicated to initiating, developing and procuring power projects. LASG also has a Power Delivery Team headed by the Permanent Secretary of Works, Engr. P.O. Bamgbose-Martins, tasked with the implementation and contract management of the power projects. At the moment, five projects are of crucial concern to the Lagos State Government:

• Island Power Project.
• Akute Power Project
• .AES Berge
• Elsewedy Project
• Alausa Power Project #

The Island Power Project targeted at generation and distribution of power is run in two phases expected to produce a total of 124 MW of power. At the moment, 10 MW is assertive as operational. Akute, AES Berge and Alausa Power projects are solely power generation plants all in operation except for the Alausa Project which is still in procurement stage. Akute and AES Berge Projects alone produce 282.15 MW of power whilst it is expected that the Alausa Project will produce 11.6MW.

The aim of the Akute Plant is to assist in production and generation of 24 hours water supply to Lagosians. Currently the plant is believed to pump about 130 million gallons of water daily to the over 18 million residents of Lagos State that subscribe to the Lagos Water Corporation 

It is credit worthy to note that the Elsewedy Transformer Factory located at Badagry is up and running and fullyoperational. The El Sewdy transformer factory (as known as El Sewedy Nigeria Limted) is a joint venture between Lagos State Government (LASG) and El Sewedy Cables of Egypt. The agreement was signed by both parties in 2007 to develop a state of the art facility to manufacture transformers in Badagry, Lagos State. Prior to the establishment of this factory in Lagos state in 2009, LASG was only able to supply a total number of 108 transformers between 2007 – 2008 to communities in the state for its Rural Electrification Programme against an annual average demand of about 700 transformers. The transformers are currently available for retail to both government and non government entities and the factory is due to begin manufacturing cables and meters shortly. The transformer factory commenced operations in October 2010 and the project is valued at about $25m.

With the Lagos Energy Audit Program set in motion, a key objective will be to create a comprehensive database to determine the actual amount of energy/power required in Lagos state. The rationale behind these energy audits, is to use the information to develop the Lagos state power master plan. The Lagos State Energy Audit team has already conducted audits for Lagos Island and presently, audits are being undertaken for Shomolu printing community, Ilupeju industrial estate, Matori industrial estate and Ikorodu industrial estate.

At the moment, the hopes and aspirations of all residents of Lagos State is very high. Will the government be able to solve this long standing issue of constant power failure in a cosmopolitan and industrial city like Lagos? Will Lagos truly be afforded to taste 365days without the blinking of light bulbs? Can these projects really open up the pathway for other states in Nigeria to see the light? It is yet to be ascertained, however, great credit goes to the state government for a job well done.

For more information, please visit www.lagospowerprojects.gov.ng. Eko o ni baje oooo!!!