Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, says residents of Lagos State have spent an estimated N14tn to buy fuel for their power generators annually.
Ogunleye said there are about 4.5 million power generators in Lagos homes and offices, and these generators consume about 16 billion litres of fuel annually.
The commissioner spoke on Tuesday at the opening of the ongoing Lagos Energy Summit.
In his welcome address, Ogunleye said the gathering was to reflect on and recommit to a journey that touches every household and business.
He lamented that Lagos has, for decades, endured a culture of blackouts.
According to him, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in collaboration with SEforALL, conducted a landmark Energy Access Diagnostic Study that revealed the true depth of our dependency on self-generated power:
“Lagos has an estimated 4.5 million generators spread across residential homes, market clusters, and MSMEs.
“These generators consume 16 billion litres of fuel annually, costing Lagosians about N14 trn at today’s average price of N900/litre.
“They emit 38 million tonnes of CO every year—a shocking contrast to entire countries like Togo (9.8m), Rwanda (10.6m), and Gabon (10.2m),” he stated.
He added that together, these generators produce an astonishing 21,000 megawatts of power “privately, inefficiently, and expensively.”
The study, according to him, discovered that 72 per cent of households own at least one generator, 94 per cent of small businesses rely on gensets, and 76 per cent of market clusters cannot function without them.
“Add to that the vandalisation of power assets, chronic underinvestment, sector-wide liquidity issues, and the plague of estimated billing, and the picture becomes clear: the people have carried the burden of power failure for far too long,” he regretted.
While saying the Lagos State Government has long begun the journey to democratise power in Nigeria, he said the signing of the Electricity Act in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu has empowered states like Lagos to take full control of their electricity markets.
With the signing of the Lagos Electricity Law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the commissioner noted that the state is planning to diversify its energy mix by embracing solar, gas, hydro, and other clean fuels.
He disclosed, “We are now actively pursuing Expressions of Interest for gas-fired, grid-scale solar, and captive power projects, all aimed at injecting 6 GW of power into Lagos within the next three years.
“We are pursuing retrofitting 22,000 streetlights across the state to reduce grid pressure and improve energy efficiency. Lagos is no longer at the mercy of what doesn’t work. We are building what does.”
In his speech, the State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, said it is shameful that Nigeria is still battling poor electricity in this modern age.
In building a smart city, Sanwo-Olu believed that no home should remain in darkness.
“We believe that no home should remain in darkness, not in the 21st century. It’s a shame for all of us to still have homes that will be in darkness. So, it’s really a call for all of us to do whatever we need to do to make sure that we can turn this around very quickly.
“And I want to stand here to tell you that Lagos, which is the fastest-growing megacity on our continent, is ready to address this energy access in a sustainable manner.
“Our vision is simple yet ambitious: to make Lagos a 24/7 economy, which is powered by clean, reliable and affordable energy. I think the word ‘affordability’ today is a very strong word. The vision aligns with the global climate goals, Nigeria’s energy transition objective, and our commitment to building a resilient and sustainable future for generations to come,” he said.
A former Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji, who was the keynote speaker at the summit, advised the Federal Government to make use of its abundant gas reserves to power the country.
According to Nnaji, what Lagos State is doing is providing electricity for millions of Nigerians who don’t have it.
He stated that Nigeria currently has millions of people with no access to electricity, saying this is unacceptable in the 21st century.
“Algeria, which has just a small fraction of the natural gas that we have, is providing electricity for all of its citizens. So the journey of Energy for All starts with a few things, like being able to have the fuel. I believe that in the next 20 years, natural gas will be the fuel to power our plants. And if that is the case, then we happen to have been blessed by the Almighty with about 210.5 trillion cubic feet of gas. So, if we are blessed with that, which makes us about the ninth largest reserve in the world, then we have to be able to produce electricity.
“If we are not able to produce this and we have it, then we are not going to be able to develop power plants. Then we are not going to be able to prosper as a nation. The GDP growth – we should know that for any country, as the GDP is growing, the energy support must also be growing year on year,” he stated.
