Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, during his recent inspection of the Independent Power Plant (IPP), which is located near the state’s secretariat at Alausa, he disclosed the plan by his government is to expand and optimise the capacity of the plant to serve the greater Lagos area.
Speaking, Sanwo-Olu explains that his administration would be harnessing private investment to boost the output of the IPP in response to the growing need to sustain the “Light-Up Lagos,” project of his predecessor and also to absorb more public offices in the State-owned power grid.
Also in attendance, the governor who was accompanied on the inspection by his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote and General Manager, Lagos State Electricity Board, Mr. Mukhtar Tijani, said that the effort of the government to upscale the output of the IPP is a major move to increase the capacity of the power plant, seven years after it was built.
“We considered embarking on this facility inspection of the Lagos IPP to see how we will optimise the current usage of the plant early this year, given the growing demand for electricity to power public facilities around.
“Knowing the current output of the power plant is necessary for us to decide what kind of investment required to solve the operational issues and upscale the output. When the IPP was built in 2013, it boosted the capacity of government’s offices in Alausa and help us in our Light-Up Lagos project. But, there is a need for us to expand the services for more coverage.”
Speaking further, sanwo-Olu added mentioning the current output could no longer meet the demand of the state.
He said the inspection tour would be followed up with a meeting with partners on the IPP initiative to discuss sustainable growth plan on the output, as more government’s facilities are set to be integrated into the power grid.
He said; “What we currently have now certainly cannot meet up with our requirements. We want to expand and grow the Light-Up Lagos initiative so that we can light up strategic highways and areas, including Ikorodu Road, Ogudu, and Oworonsoki and extend the initiative to Adeniyi Jones and Oba Akran Road. We want to have the whole parts of the State lit up at night.”
The Alausa IPP, built in October 2013, is one of the power plants conceived and developed by the State Government. It provides electricity to a number of public institutions in the Ikeja area and also powers key public infrastructure, including streetlights on major highways. The plant is currently being managed on behalf of the state government by Alausa Power Limited,” it added.
