AKURE/Nigeria: The Ondo State Government is positioning its electricity market as a new investment frontier, inviting private investors and development partners to participate in generation, distribution, renewable energy and other emerging opportunities created by the sector’s decentralisation.
The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Engr. Johnson Alabi, made the call at the 2026 International Investment and Partnership Conference of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Associations Alliance (REEEA-A) in Lagos.
Alabi said the changing regulatory environment had given states greater room to take responsibility for electricity development and build energy markets suited to their economic needs.
He said Ondo was seeking to move beyond dependence on national electricity arrangements by developing the institutions, infrastructure and investment framework required for a more responsive power sector.
According to him, the state considers electricity central to its industrialisation plans because reliable power is necessary for businesses, job creation, innovation and improved living standards.
He identified policy and regulatory capacity, private investment, renewable energy, infrastructure and grid development, as well as technology and human capital as major components of the state’s energy strategy.
The commissioner said government was already combining regulatory reforms with physical interventions, including the procurement and distribution of transformers to communities experiencing electricity supply challenges.
The state has also been pursuing renewable-energy interventions, particularly solar-powered systems intended to extend electricity access to rural communities.
Alabi said the scale of Ondo’s electricity deficit presented a substantial market opportunity, noting that the state requires significantly more power than it currently receives.
He put the state’s estimated requirement at about 700 megawatts, compared with a current supply of less than 30 megawatts, describing the gap as an opportunity for investors capable of developing viable generation and distribution projects.
The state has, in recent months, stepped up its participation in the electricity value chain. Earlier this year, it announced plans to work with the Federal Government Power Company on transmission infrastructure and also disclosed efforts to procure power directly from generation companies.
The government has also granted generation and distribution licences to private companies through the Ondo State Electricity Regulatory Bureau, signalling its intention to develop an investor-driven electricity market.
The state’s legal framework has likewise been updated. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa recently assented to an amended electricity-sector law designed, among other things, to strengthen the role of the Ondo State Power Company, protect electricity investments and encourage private-sector participation.
Alabi said the reforms were intended to provide greater certainty for investors and create conditions in which electricity projects could operate on a commercially sustainable basis.
He disclosed that the government had also approved a 140-megawatt electricity connection for the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, as part of efforts to improve power availability to strategic institutions.
The commissioner said the administration would continue to develop projects aimed at expanding access while encouraging investors to identify opportunities across the state’s electricity value chain.
He urged prospective investors, development finance institutions and energy-sector professionals to engage with the state government and explore projects in generation, distribution, renewable energy and related infrastructure.
Alabi assured investors that the government was committed to providing the regulatory and institutional support required to make investments in the sector viable.
He said the ultimate objective was to build an electricity ecosystem capable of supporting Ondo’s economic expansion while improving access to reliable and affordable power for
