The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, says the state government is considering scrapping the current classification of electricity consumers into bands.

Ogunleye made this disclosure on Monday at an inter-ministerial briefing showcasing the achievements ofb Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in the energy sector over the past year.

During the briefing, he was asked to respond to concerns about some communities in the Aboru area being placed in Band D despite receiving less than three hours of electricity supply daily.

The commissioner said the state government is working to establish a system that removes the classification of electricity customers into bands.

“Let me say this, part of what we are trying to enable is an environment that eliminates banding. Banding says that you have 3, 8, 12, or 21 hours of light.

“We are saying that — is it impossible to have continuous power supply? Mr Governor has thrown the challenge and even repeated it again. Is it impossible to have 24-hour power supply?

“I strongly believe that we can do it. We have seen it before in this city. Banding is not what we want to focus our attention on,” Ogunleye said.

The energy commissioner also said the state government is aiming to deliver an additional 2,000 megawatts of embedded power generation through partnerships with private investors.

He said Lagos residents could start experiencing improved electricity supply from embedded power projects within the next six to twelve months.

Ogunleye added that the state government believes its role is to provide an enabling environment for private sector participation in electricity generation and distribution, rather than directly operating power plants.

“We are working with various providers with the target of ensuring embedded power generation within the Lagos environment.

“We cannot continue to depend entirely on the federal government. We must have a stable and productive Lagos.

“Without electricity, there will be zero development and our people’s opportunities will not be maximised,” Ogunleye said.

Ogunleye also disclosed that Lagos currently has 12 independent power producers under regulation, out of which seven are already fully operational on a commercial basis.