The Lagos State Electricity Board (LSEB) has revealed that efforts towards transforming the City’s energy landscape are in top gear as the government desires to expand the energy services across the State.
Speaking at a media parley held at the Lagos Energy Academy, Ikeja, the General Manager of the Board, Engr. Mukhtaar Tijani, affirmed that the increasing energy demands in the State, due to expanded civilisation and increased population, have led to concerns over the limited energy resources.
Reeling out the plans and programmes the Agency has lined up to support the policy of the State government as encapsulated in the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, Tijani submitted that the focus of the Board is on sustainable energy supply, which entails optimised use of energy to minimise pollution.
According to him, “While a sustainable energy future requires structural reform and the facilitation of technology transfer, the four pillars of development – Economic, Political, Social and the Environment – must be considered during policy formulation because sustainable energy resources must be economically viable, politically supported, socially equitable and environmentally acceptable”.
He explained that the flagship initiative towards this effort is the conduct of energy audit for structures across the State with the aim of developing the comprehensive master plan that will serve as a blueprint towards investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology.
Tijani added that having completed the exercise at the public healthcare facilities across the five divisions of the State, plans are underway to carry out the exercise on other facilities, including the private sector, as the strategy is to harmonise all energy sources in Lagos in order to have an inclusive management plan that will cater for future expansion.
Speaking further, the General Manager explained that the approach towards achieving the 2030 target on Sustainable Development Goal 7, which focuses on affordable and clean energy in the State, has been captured in the developmental agenda of the present administration.
“Part of the efforts to improve the energy structure is the Lagos Solar project which is an advanced power resolution initiative that is focused on implementing embedded solar power solutions for public facilities. This project currently provides solar power to 172 public boarding secondary schools and 11 Public Health Centres (PHCs) and is designed to deliver 5MW of sustainable solar power to all rural, riverine and public boarding Secondary Schools located within the rural areas”, he revealed.
He further submitted that the State, under the Public-Private Partnership structure, will soon embark on the retrofitting of street lights from High-Pressure Sodium Bulb (HPS) to Light Emitting Diode (LED), noting that this will afford the Agency the opportunity to transmit and utilise energy in an environmentally responsible manner.
Speaking on the Lagos Energy Academy, Tijani disclosed that the institution has been remodelled to provide International standard training in all areas of the power value chain to young citizens, stressing that the mission is to be the centre of excellence in energy education, research and innovation in Nigeria.
While imploring the media to assist in sensitising the citizens to support the Board’s drive towards modern sustainable energy management and refrain from any act that could sabotage the effort of government, the General Manager pointed out that the making of Lagos a 21st Century Economy entails enhancing and facilitating access to clean energy technology, as well as entrenching an advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel structure.
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