The Kwara State Commissioner for Energy, Abdulazeez Kola Abdulganiy, has reiterated the state government’s commitment to repositioning the energy sector by generating power for itself according to the Nigeria Electricity Act of 2023.
He said this will ensure efficiently managed electricity generation, transmission, and distribution that will adequately promote socio-economic growth in the state.
He stated this while receiving the delegation of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, NESREA, on a courtesy visit to his office in Ilorin.
The Electricity Act, signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 9, 2023, gives states the power to regulate their electricity markets, grant licences to private investors to build power plants, establish distribution networks, operate mini-grids, and distribute power to create the State Electricity Market (SEM) and to integrate renewable energy into the existing energy mix in the states.
While assuring the agency of the Ministry’s partnership, the Commissioner appealed to the delegation to work as a team with the ministry to achieve set goals.
Earlier, the Kwara State Coordinator of NESREA, Mrs Aremu Zainab Arike, called for collaboration with the ministry for the proper regulation of environmental law in the energy sector.
She said: “The purpose of this regulation is to prevent pollution and encourage efficiency in the operations of the energy sector to achieve sustainable economic development.”
She added: “The regulation is also to carry out environmental assessment and to minimise environmental pollution.”
The Chief Scientific Officer of NESREA, Audu Mayowa, further explained that the agency carries out inspections on any new project to check if it is environmentally friendly and to reduce global warming in the state.
