The commissioner of energy and mineral resources in Lagos, Biodun Ogunleye, says the state government is planning to eliminate the classification of electricity customers into bands.

Ogunleye was speaking on Monday, during an inter-ministerial briefing organised to highlight the achievements of the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in the energy sector for the last one year.

During the press briefing, the energy commissioner was asked to react to how some communities in the Aboru area of the state are placed in Band D with less than three hours power supply on a daily basis.

The commissioner responded that the state government is working to create an environment that eliminates 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,” Ogunleye said.

“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.”

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

He said residents in Lagos could begin to witness improved electricity supply from embedded power projects within the next six to 12 months.

Ogunleye said the state government believes that it should create the enabling environment for the private sector to be involved 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,” Ogunleye said.