Oyo moves to embrace Independent Power Supply

Mr. Seun Ashamu, Oyo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, says the state has begun efforts toward achieving independent power supply.

Ashamu, who made the disclosure on Wednesday while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, maintained that the options of building an independent power station were already being explored by the state.

He also said the government would take advantage of its potentials such as dams and landscape to power unserved areas in the state to increase the hours of electricity supply.

“The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is saddled with the responsibility of coordinating independent power in Oyo State to establish an independent electric grid.

“We are working on creating a conducive environment for effective teaching and learning in schools. Also, there should be a steady power supply in our hospitals and primary health centres.

“On the economic side of things, we know that if we want foreign investors in our state, we must assure them of constant power supply.

“Last year, we met the Transmission Company of Nigerian in Abuja on how to improve the electricity distribution in the state,” he stated.

The commissioner sought the support of the leadership of both the federal and state energy generation and power supply organisations for the government to improve the distribution of electricity across the state.

He added that efforts were ongoing to identify potentials and resources in each zone of the state and locations in order to determine appropriate means of generating power for residents of each zone

The commissioner reiterated that the ministry would make use of natural energy solutions such as solar, wastes, water, farmland, and air among others to address the issue of irregular power supply.

He admonished residents of the state to be patient and cooperate with the state government in its quest to bring the independent power supply project to reality.

“We need the cooperation of the residents of the state. We also want our people to be patient with us.

“For instance, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has just been established, therefore, we started with establishing a management and staffing framework that we would be working with.

“Also, there are some strategies that would be adopted to reduce wastage in the use of electricity in residential and commercial buildings,” Ashamu said.