On the premise of Section 67(1) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 of the Nigerian Constitution, the Oyo State Government has set up an independent power distribution to complement the existing supply of electricity.

Aside from Fresh Waters which the Governor was named after(Omituntun), it will be right to as well tag him as the Light of Oyo State courtesy of the Light Up Oyo Project, and now, the Independent Power Plant Project.

Many controversies tolled the Light Up Project being powered by diesel but it was clarified by the Commissioner for Energy, Seun Ashamu via an interview that the diesel powering was temporary and an emergency approach to tackle the then rising criminal activities of night crawlers and also to beat the delay posed to the project by the COVID-19 lockdown as at the time, stalling the purchase of most of the needed gadgets for the project.

The original template for lighting up the streets was a Tribid System which consists of three sources of energy; the grid, the inverter backup and the gas generators, whereby each of the three works instead of the others when the other sources are not available, hence providing for an uninterrupted supply.

In simpler terms, the grid powers the lights till it is unavailable while the inverter and battery storage takes charge till it runs down, and then the gas generator powers the lights and recharges the batteries simultaneously till the grids come up, producing light uninterruptedly.

Now a reality, Governor Seyi Makinde is again setting the pace in providing solutions to energy crisis with the advent of the Independent Power Plant of 11MW hybrid power solution which consists of 10MW gas-fired power generation and a 1MW PV solar solution.

This project is set to complement 12 healthcare facilities, the Lekan Salami Sport Complex, the Judicial Complexes at Iyaganku and Ring Road, the State’s House of Assembly, and a selection of schools within the catchment areas.

With the completion of this visionary project comes an enhancement of security, a geometric increase in market sales and businesses, and a concurrent geometric economic advancement. Also, investors now have more reasons to situate their investments in Oyo State, just as the State Government is already in an agreement with Shell to extend gas pipeline infrastructure to the State.

These are the attributes of light, and Engineer Seyi Makinde has blessed Oyo State with them.

We however crave for more and the sustenance of these projects as we hope to extend the stay of the Engineer as Governor of Oyo State.

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Oyo Truth is an independent online news platform/medium reporting up-to-date events, happenings and activities related to Oyo State, Nigeria.