Electricity Hike: List of States Ready to Start Generating Power

Following the over 200 per cent increase in the electricity tariff approved by the federal government through the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), some states in Nigeria have expressed their readiness to start generating power for their people.

Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.

President Bola Tinubu signed the new Electricity Act into law in June 2023 following calls from Nigerians that the power sector be reformed and removed from the federal government's exclusive list. The new law empowered states to generate, transmit, and distribute power within their boundaries.

Many Nigerians believe this would help find a lasting solution to the country's electricity problems as the new law replaced the 2005 Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act and promoted investments from the private sector.

Read also

“Tinubu's reforms are without a human face”: Atiku rejects electricity tariff hike

According to The Punch, some of the states ready to key into the development are listed below:

Ekiti state

Taiwo Olatunbosun, the commissioner for information in Ekiti, disclosed that the government had domesticated the electricity law in the state, adding that electricity had been generated and transmitted through the Independent Power Project (IPP).

Olatunbosun stated that the state is keen on making Ekiti a place for investors, uplifting people's social lives, and promoting their businesses by continuing to provide strategic intervention in electricity and other infrastructural development.

Lagos did not give up

Gbenga Omotosho, the state commissioner for information and strategy, said on Thursday, April 4, that Lagos had been at the forefront of championing independent electricity supply since the passing of its Electricity Act.

Read also

Like Band A, Tinubu's govt to extend electricity tariff hike to other customers

Omotoshosho said the state began to generate power when President Bola Tinubu was governor. He added that the state experienced some constraints then but did not give up on its mission.

Benue state

The North Central state has disclosed that efforts are ongoing to establish its power-generating firm.

Omale Omale, the state's commissioner for power and transport, disclosed this on Thursday, April 4, adding that the government had begun its transmission programme and policy in the electricity sector.

According to the commissioner, the government had begun a legal framework for the electricity law to help articulate modalities for the power sector in the state.

Nasarawa state

The state government said it partnered with the Nigeria Off-Grid Market Acceleration Programme to develop and implement energy projects that would enhance and sustain the electricity supply.

Ibrahim Abdullahi, the managing director of the state's Investment and Development Agency (IDA), maintained that the partnership was a step toward making the state's vision of becoming one of Nigeria's top three economically competitive states a reality.

Read also

Electricity tariff hike: "Economic oppression", northern elders lambast Tinubu

Kano state

The Kano state has also expressed readiness to generate power for people and companies, adding that its projects are almost complete.

According to the state's director general of media and publicity, Sanusi Tofa, the government had begun the two independent power projects in Challawa Goje Tiga 10 years ago, during the second term of former governor Rabiu Kwankwaso.

Tofa added that the projects were 90 per cent complete, and $40m was deposited in the company's account to complete and take off the projects quickly.

According to The Punch, other states that have expressed their readiness are Kebbi, Osun, Ondo, Zamfara, Sokoto, Oyo, Edo, Kaduna, and Enugu.

Lagos communities that enjoy 20-24 hours of electricity

Legit.ng earlier reported that the federal government in the communities in Lagos enjoyed 20-24 hours of electricity supply.

According to the new tariff, the Band A customers will pay N225 from the current N66 kilowatt per hour.

Read also

NLC, manufacturers, others react to NERC's increase in electricity tariff

However, Ikeja Electric has released a list of communities under Band A and those under Band B, C, D and E.

Source: Legit.ng