Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has described the passage into law of the Osun Electricity Bill as a major tool to deepen and boost the economy of the state.
Reacting to the passage of the Executive Bill into law by the state House of Assembly, he said it will open windows of opportunities for investors in the power sector with a lot of off-grid generation opportunities.
Adeleke stated in a release on Tuesday by his spokesperson, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, that sources of power generation will be diversified, opened up and regulated to address what he called chronic power supply crisis rocking the state.
“The new law will ensure the right energy mix. Renewable energy will complement the traditional energy sources. Osun State is open to new energy sector investors,” the governor was quoted as saying.
Aside from tapping into various power generation sources in the state, Adeleke said the era of exploitation and oppression of Osun people by some officials of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) was over.
The new law, according to him, provided for the establishment of the State Electricity Regulatory Agency to regulate and monitor the electricity market as well as attend to service delivery issues by the distribution company.
He stressed that the agency will be empowered to address complaints of electricity users and act on the activities of the distribution company.
Adeleke therefore warned that the Disco should sit tight now ahead of the eventual take off of the commission.
“The regulatory commission will be addressing critical issues relating to customer – service providers complaints. It will grant licenses to power generators among others. The commission will not allow current maltreatment of electricity users in the state.
“I will invite all stakeholders to the signing into law ceremony. The business community in Osun State should heave a sigh of relief. The much needed policy framework for the state power sector has arrived,” he said.
Governor Adeleke commended the House of Assembly, the state Ministry of Energy and all those who worked on the draft bill and participated in the consultation processes leading to the passage of the Electricity Market Law.
