Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced plans to increase electricity supply in the state to more than 3,000 megawatts by March 2027, up from the current level of below 1,000MW.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Saturday at the Fourth Lagos Business School Africa Energy Conference 2026, held at the Honeywell Auditorium, Lagos Business School, along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, the governor said the state planned to mobilise an additional 2,000MW through national grid resources, independent power projects, energy hubs, power barges, energy traders and embedded generation.
He said achieving the target would require coordinated improvements across the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission, distribution, gas supply and metering, as the state works towards building a 24-hour power economy.
The governor outlined a seven-point action plan focusing on strengthening the Lagos electricity market, expanding generation and distribution capacity, improving transmission infrastructure, upgrading networks and metering, securing gas supply and deploying digital technologies to enhance market transparency.
He added that the state was working to improve substations and distribution feeders, expand metering coverage and establish clear contractual obligations among electricity market operators to attract private investment.
Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the deployment of digital systems, including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and the Lagos Electricity Intelligence Platform, to improve monitoring, accountability and transparency.
On renewable energy, he disclosed that about 42,000 of the approximately 50,000 streetlights earmarked for solarisation had been completed. He added that solarisation projects had been completed in 175 public schools, while work was ongoing in another 100.
The governor called on investors, financial institutions, energy operators and development partners to collaborate with the state, stressing that reliable electricity was critical to industrial growth, job creation, business competitiveness and improved living standards.
In his keynote address, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited’s Vice President, Deepwater Assets and Managing Director, Ronald Adams, urged the Federal Government to sustain energy sector reforms to attract investment, accelerate oil and gas development and improve energy access.
Adams said Nigeria’s estimated 37 billion barrels of oil and condensate reserves and more than 250 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves offered significant opportunities for industrialisation and economic growth.
However, he stressed that these resources could only translate into prosperity through competitive fiscal policies, regulatory certainty, efficient project approvals and disciplined implementation of reforms.
He also emphasised the importance of natural gas in supporting electricity generation, manufacturing and industrial development, noting that Nigeria needed to convert its energy resources into reliable power and productive economic activities.
Meanwhile, the President of the Lagos Business School Energy Club, Sebilat Quadri, said the conference provided a platform for policymakers, investors, financiers, energy operators and academics to discuss strategies for advancing Nigeria’s energy sector.
Earlier, the Dean of Lagos Business School, Professor Olayinka David-West, called for a holistic approach to addressing challenges in energy policy, infrastructure, financing and market development, describing reliable and affordable electricity as essential to economic growth and improved living standards.
