9th Oct 2014 Nigeria’s Lagos state government has taken a another step in building its energy capabilities by placing a 14.3 Mega Watt power plant which will guarantee steady electricity supply to some public institutions and streets in the state.
The 8.8megawatts Mainland Independent Power Plant will be launched on the 31st of October, by Governor Babatunde Fashola to round out this year’s Energy Conservation Month. According to Danmilola Ogunbiyi, general manager, Lagos State Electricity Board, the power plant which is situated in the state’s capital will generate constant electricity to the Old Secretariat Complex, Ikeja Water Works, Ikeja High Court Complex and the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. It will also cover 20 kilometers of public lighting to selected streets around Ikeja.
State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Engr. Taofiq Tijani has explained that the state is rising to the challenge of providing its own energy needs and is quoted as saying “As a state, we have a lot to do to complement what is coming from the national grid. We currently receive less than 1,000MW from the grid, but we need a minimum of 5,000MW and as much as 10,000MW for us to be truly called a mega-city.”
BusinessDay Online tells us that this is the 4th independent power project to be launched by the state in the last 4 years. The 12.15MW Akute IPP enables the Lagos Water Corporation to pump over 130 million gallons of water daily. The 10MW Island Power Plant, supplies electricity to the General Hospital and Island Maternity Hospital, the High Court and Magistrates Court complexes and over 22 streetlights while the 10.4MW Alausa Power Plant, powers the Lagos State Government Secretariat complex.
We’re also told that the state will inaugurate another 5.5MW IPP around Lekki by the end of the year or in the first quarter of 2015, bringing the total capacity of IPPs in the state to 47MW.