The Lagos State Government says it has executed a letter of cooperation with the United States Agency for International Development to effectively launch the Lagos State Integrated Resource Plan, under the Power Africa-Nigeria’s Power Sector Program initiative.
The state’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources disclosed this on Tuesday night in a statement entitled ‘Improved access to electricity in Lagos: Sanwo-Olu signs letter of cooperation with USAID’.
“To improve access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa, there is no better place to start than in Nigeria,” the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was quoted as saying at the virtual signing event on Tuesday.
According to him, the Integrated Resource Plan is a priority initiative for the Lagos State Government as it underpins the state’s power reform strategy to ensure that access to reliable and affordable electricity of residents becomes a reality.
Sanwo-Olu expressed the state’s gratitude to the Power Africa-Nigeria Power Sector Program for leading the initiative and the domestic stakeholders for providing support by their collective resolve to ensure the actualisation of the Lagos Integrated Resource Plan.
The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olalere Odusote, said the signing of the letter of cooperation was a significant milestone in the implementation plan of the Lagos State Government to improve access of residents to affordable electricity.
He said, “It is impossible to have a sustainable economic plan without a strategic energy plan.”
“The objective of the Lagos State Government is to deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity to Lagos residents, a key enabler for the vision of making Lagos a 21st century economy.”
According to him, the integrated resource plan will be a sustainable, long-term electrification plan for the state.
Odusote said the plan would be developed within the framework of PA-NPSP and would be the road map to guide the development and implementation of a comprehensive electrification strategy suited to the long-term development needs of the state.
“The Integrated Resource Plan, when developed, will be an effective tool for improved planning and decision-making towards accelerating successful investment in the electricity sector and ultimately increasing electricity accessibility and reliability in Lagos State,” he added.