LAGOS ENERGY MASTERPLAN TO CREATE A STABLE INVESTMENT CLIMATE – COMMISSIONER
The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Engr. Olalere Odusote, has stated that the Lagos State Energy Master plan is designed to enhance a stable investment environment and provide an expansion for renewable energy policies.
Speaking at a Management Staff Retreat of the Lagos State Electricity Board, held at Lilly Gate Hotel, Lekki, Odusote revealed that the robust energy system policies allow system-wide considerations of the security of supply, energy access, affordability, environmental impacts and investment needs.
He pointed out that the government has shown significant commitment towards galvanising an effective network between the State and key stakeholders to advance the deliverables of the energy sector while balancing environmental, economic and social priorities.
Emphasising the need to invest in different means of energy generation to ensure the efficiency of local industries, the Commissioner encouraged participants to give detailed attention and focus to key methodologies in the energy spectrum to scale up the delivery of sustainable energy.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ms. Olusola Shasore, declared that the retreat is very significant in continuing the culture of breaking boundaries and delivering a strong impact in Mr. Governor’s quest towards making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, one of the pillars of the T.H.E.M.E.S. Agenda.
She disclosed that the management retreat, aimed at building the capacity of management personnel to effectively support current and future challenges in the energy industry, is appropriate and timely.
“Given that the energy sector is constantly changing and evolving, organisations must have the skills and understanding of complex regulatory regimes as the mainstreaming of Energy Policy within SDGs is the new undertaking of every progressive government”, she affirmed.
The Permanent Secretary explained that to ensure we get the future energy infrastructure right, both for our economic needs and for the environment, the administration is taking steps to have a well-established and managed energy generation and distribution system that will support the various sectors of society.
In his welcome address, the General Manager, Lagos State Electricity Board, Engr. Mukhtaar Tijani, affirmed that given the highly skilled nature in the energy industry, it is required that government continues to focus on building a workforce with the necessary technical expertise that will deliver sustainable outcomes.
He said the increasing population and consequent growth in business, medicine, agriculture and education, among other things, are leading to a greater demand for not only a stable reserve of energy but also more sustainable sources of energy, hence there is a need to substantially increase the proportion of energy mix that renewable energy accounts for.
His words: “Going by the theme of this occasion, ‘Delivering Sustainable and Effective Energy Towards Ensuring Efficient Service Delivery in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda’, the focus on developing people with the most critical skills for achieving our strategic goals in the energy ecosystem is a veritable way to upscale the development priorities”.
He explained that the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has seen significant recognition given to energy as a key enabler for development with universal access to renewable energy and massive improvements in energy efficiency now part of the top global priorities for sustainable development.
“As with any industry, new technologies, techniques and better practices are being developed all the time, and governments have to adapt to these changes constantly. To develop sufficient scope to penetrate the society with energy-related technologies, a high degree of sophisticated automation and analytics is needed to manage a system powered by an increasing variety of energy sources”, he noted.
The General Manager posited that one of the priorities of the government in recent years has been improving on the challenges associated with energy by scaling up modern energy projects.
“Currently, the energy sector in the State is being transformed and reformed to meet the ever-increasing demand of our time, particularly moving towards the production of clean forms of energy to make energy reliable and accessible”, he said.
Engr. Tijani averred that the retreat will focus discussion on systemic approaches to the opportunities in energy transition and how to improve technical and behavioural tendencies in the workplace.
AA/TMS/OS
