Lagos faults regulators over unmetered electricity consumers

August 27, 2026 12:15 am

The Lagos State Government has faulted electricity regulators over the continued failure to meter all electricity consumers in the state, insisting that existing laws already require every customer to have a meter.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, stated this while speaking on the state’s electricity reforms and efforts to improve power supply on the sidelines of the unveiling of four transmission substations in Lagos recently.

Ogunleye said the responsibility for enforcing the metering requirement rested with regulators at both the federal and state levels, stressing that Lagos had already provided the necessary policy and legal framework.

Asked what the state government is doing to ensure close the metering gap in Lagos, he replied, “I will do what I can. The law provides that all customers must be metered. The Lagos law insists that all customers must be metered.

“So, the question is: what are the regulators doing? What are they doing at the federal and the state level? I’m a policy maker, so don’t ask me that question. When you see the regulators, ask them.”

Ogunleye said the government has empowered the regulators with the required policies and laws to implement metering.

“As policy makers, we have ensured the policy document is there and the law is also there. So, if they’re not implementing it, they should come and tell us why they aren’t using it,” he stated.

Ogunleye also urged Lagos residents to support electricity operators by rejecting energy theft and protecting power infrastructure across the state.

“Let’s say no to energy theft. Let all of us protect this infrastructure.

Let’s go and get our meters. And at the end of the day, let’s manage our use so that we don’t also burst our pockets,” he advised.

The commissioner urged residents to work with electricity companies to ensure that the operators remain financially viable, saying, ”Lagosians, let’s just work closely with these companies to ensure that they’re able to stay in business.”

The commissioner also disclosed that the state government was encouraging private companies to deploy solar power, particularly in areas experiencing significant shortfalls in grid electricity.

According to him, the state government was not directly intervening by providing free solar electricity but was creating an environment for private operators to provide alternative power.

“Lagos government has started encouraging private people. You know, we aren’t intervening directly. People will see it as free of charge and they won’t want to pay.

“But we have started encouraging various companies to go into the business of delivering solar power, particularly in areas where there is considerable grid shortfall, so that the people can enjoy supply at their own pace, at their own terms,” he added.

Ogunleye also said the state was looking to expand electricity capacity in Lagos through upgrades to transmission infrastructure.

He noted that additional transformation capacity had been commissioned by the Transmission Company of Nigeria and the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, including an expansion at the Lekki substation.

“The Honourable Minister has been able to commission additional transformation capacity for the TCN, and we see the Lekki substation just simply doubling capacity. We see Ijora going up. We see Alausa also going on,” he said.

He added that Lagos would require a significant expansion of transmission capacity to achieve its electricity ambitions.

“What I know is that with time, there’s a need to triple capacity in the Lagos area, and it’s the right step in the right direction.

“It has happened or is happening, and we look forward to the opportunity for TCN to do more, so that they can win more, and then Nigeria as a whole can also generate enough for them to win more, so that Lagos’ dream of three to four gigawatts of capacity being distributed within this area can be accomplished,” he submitted.

Dare Olawin

Dare Olawin is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over a decade of reporting experience. He began his career as a community reporter and now covers the energy sector, including oil, gas, electricity, and renewables. Dare’s work reflects hands-on newsroom experience, professional development through workshops and conferences, and a strong commitment to accurate and insightful journalism.

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