By  Yemie Adeoye

Just a couple of weeks ago,the Lagos State Government commissioned a 10MW Independent Power Plant, which delivered in record time of about 18 months and according to the Governor, he had relied on “ESPRA”, the Electric Power Sector Reform Act which now allows the hitherto hindered state and private sector operators to actively participate in the generation and supply of electricity.

In the same vein Lafarge WAPCO, one of the oldest cement manufacturing companies in Nigeria has concluded plans to commission A 90 mega watt IPP with four units of 15Mw each.

The company stated that the plant is primarily meant to supply uninterrupted power to the massive Ewekoro cement factory which has just being extended to comprise of Ewekoro 1 and 2, but the 90 Mw plant would have an unused excess capacity of between 30 to 40 Mw which it plans to sell to any other industry or party that may be interested, even the state.

The power plant has a dual-firing system which enables it to use both gas and liquid fuel Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) or Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO). Gas is the primary source of power for the plant but in the case of shortage or lack of gas supply from the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC) the operators have made preparations for the alternative of AGO or LPFO, and for this they have prepared massive storage tanks to store these two products in excess capacity such that if there is a shortage in gas supply the power plant can run on these alternative fuel for three consecutive weeks, giving enough time for gas to be restored.

The Lagos state government and Larfarge WAPCO have set a good example to other stake holders in the country. It has been agreed at different for a that the power sector is major key to the economic development of the country and government alone, it has been established cannot resolve the issue of power, it is for this reason that manufacturing companies, the oil and gas sector, state government and other stakeholders in the Nigerian economy should come forward and emulate the example of these two entities mentioned above.

The power sector is key to national development, security and the Nigerian economy in general. This has been established as the Ewekoro 2 project dubbed “LAKATABU” is targeted at generating 600 job opportunities for young Nigerians even as the project which has climaxed gave job opportunities to 3000 youths during its 2 and a half years life span.

Upon the commissioning of “Lakatbu”, Lafarge cement WAPCO Nigeria Plc will be contributing around 12,000 tons of cement to the Nigeria cement market on a daily basis; this is also in an effort to bring a crash to the skyrocketing price of cement in the country.

Now it is better imagined what it would mean if this huge product is to rely specifically on diesel power generating plants, the poisonous emissions, cost implication on cement price which is the primary objective of the project, noise pollution and so on.

The federal government is urged to encourage investors in IPP’s to gear up towards active participation in power business.

Governor Fashola stated during the commissioning of the Lagos IPP that the use of generators had resulted in very high cost of electricity, which currently accounts for about 30 percent of operating costs businesses.

The project, which was done in conjunction with the Negris Group, when fully operational, would help eliminate the pollution; noise and carbon monoxide associated with the use of generators.

He noted further that rapid industrialization and general improvement in income and living conditions have resulted in increased demand for electricity. “Recent data reveals that the power requirements of Lagos today is estimated at about 10,000-12,000 MW.

This is in sharp contrast to the less than 1,000MW available to Lagos State from the national grid.”

He added that the use of generators had resulted in very high cost of electricity, which currently accounts for about 30 percent of operating costs businesses.

“This has many adverse social costs that are almost limitless in their dimension, erosion of disposable income for fuel to provide power, frustrations, health hazards, security failures, unemployment and so much more,” he argued.

The Governor disclosed that this is the third IPPP to be delivered by the state, the others being, the 270MW at Egbin, and the 12.5MW at Iju.

“As the bedrock of any development agenda, this administration has always considered the provision of stable power supply as being of the utmost priority.

The provision of potable water, functional telecommunication services, security operations, traffic management, healthcare and education are all dependent on the availability of constant and stable electricity,” he said.