Inside Ogun’s push for 24-hour electricity supply

As part of his push to drive industrial transformation in Ogun State, the Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has launched a two-pronged strategy to achieve 24-hour electricity supply: building independent power plants and carrying out a comprehensive electricity consumption audit. The goal is to cut industrial costs, eliminate outages, and ensure no community is underserved.

The cornerstone is the Ogun State Light-Up Project. The first phase is a 30-megawatt plant located in Onijanganjangan, near Ewekoro, Abeokuta. During an inspection penultimate week, the Governor confirmed that turbines were being installed and the control room and installed equipment were ready for testing. He described it as the initial phase of a planned 100-megawatt capacity, with 30 megawatts set to provide uninterrupted electricity to Abeokuta, the state capital.

“This is the first phase of the implementation of our Ogun State Light-Up Project,” Abiodun said. “Abeokuta Metropolis will require more than 30 megawatts, but this is the first phase of the planned 100 megawatts power generation capacity.” He added that substantial parts of the city will now enjoy 24-hour uninterrupted power supply, calling it “unprecedented in the history of Ogun State.”

Running parallel is a 4-megawatt gas-fired Independent Power Plant in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, which the governor also inspected during the week. While smaller, the Oke-Mosan plant is designed to supply priority government institutions and serve as a testbed for the state’s distribution and metering model. Both the 4MW and 34MW projects are designed for future expansion, with the state targeting 100MW in phase one alone.

The plant is designed as a dual-fired system, capable of running on both gas and diesel for reliability. Abiodun said soft commissioning on diesel will begin in two to three weeks while gas pipelines are completed in three to six weeks. The plant will run primarily on compressed gas, with diesel as backup in case of disruption in supply.

The facility is expected to be commissioned within the next eight weeks. Initially, it will supply government institutions, health facilities, government quarters, police stations, local government offices, and higher institutions, before cascading to private individuals and industries as capacity increases.

Alongside construction, Ogun is moving to fix the demand side of the equation. Abiodun announced plans to carry out a comprehensive electricity consumption audit across the state.

“The audit will help government monitor electricity distribution, curb leakages, and tackle energy theft,” he said during the Oke-Mosan inspection.

The exercise will map actual consumption against supply, identify illegal connections, and provide data for more accurate load allocation and tariff design.

For years, DisCos have struggled with aggregate technical, commercial, and collection losses above 40 percent in parts of Ogun. By taking control of distribution within state-owned grids, Ogun intends to use smart metering and real-time monitoring to bring losses below 15 percent, in line with best practice for urban grids.

The governor described power as the foundation of industrialisation and economic development. “The Ogun State Light-Up Project is aimed at making the state energy self-sufficient while ensuring no community is underserved,” he said. The audit will ensure that new capacity is matched to real demand and that underserved areas are prioritized in phase two.

For investors and manufacturers, reliable power removes one of the biggest barriers to expansion in Ogun. With stable electricity, factories can scale operations, cut dependence on expensive diesel generators, and improve competitiveness. It also strengthens Ogun’s position as Nigeria’s leading industrial hub and signals to investors that the state is serious about creating a business-friendly environment.

In doing so, Abiodun is leveraging the 2023 Electricity Act, which empowers states to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity independently of the national grid. The law effectively ends the federal monopoly on power and gives subnational governments the legal framework to build localized energy systems tailored to industrial needs.

The Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, decentralizes Nigeria’s power sector for the first time since the 2005 Electric Power Sector Reform Act. It allows states to license mini-grids, regulate intrastate electricity markets, and negotiate directly with gas suppliers. For decades, states were limited to passive roles while the federal government controlled generation, transmission, and tariff policy through NERC and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Abiodun said the state’s decision to enter power generation, transmission, and distribution followed the removal of electricity from the exclusive legislative list by the federal government. “Following the Federal Government’s removal of power generation, distribution, and transmission from the exclusive list, Ogun State has not only passed the necessary laws but has also begun implementing this critical initiative,” he noted.

The Ogun State House of Assembly has passed the law establishing the Ogun State Electricity Regulatory Commission (OGSERC) to oversee all power sector activities in the state and provide oversight for anyone who wants to go into the power business. The commission will regulate tariffs, licensing, and service standards for the state grid and mini-grids.

Similar plants are planned for Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, and Ota as the Light-Up Project expands. Project Manager Selvin Leo said the Onijanganjangan plant is 90% completed, assuring that with the availability of needed materials, equipment, and commitment from the workers, the job would be completed in record time.

The cost implications for industrial demand are significant. Under the federal-controlled system, manufacturers in Ogun face tariffs set by NERC, erratic supply, and heavy reliance on diesel generators that push energy costs to 30–40% of production expenses. The World Bank’s 2023 Nigeria Development Update estimated that unreliable power costs Nigerian firms about 2 percent of annual sales and forces manufacturers to spend up to 50 percent more on energy than competitors in Ghana and South Africa.