REA Secures $750m To Provide Electricity For 17.5m Nigerians

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has stated that it just crystallised $750 million in funding that would provide electricity access to 17.5 million Nigerians. 

According to the agency, 1.5 million Nigerians grew interconnected mini-grids to enhance electricity reliability.

“Three million of them grew isolated mini-grids to create electricity access for the first time, and about 12 million of them grew mesh grids, stand-alone systems,s and solar home systems. This is what the country is doing, and this programme is starting next month.

“We are also improving the commercial viability of the players, and this has started even before the outcome of the World Bank report,” Abba Abubakar Aliyu, Managing Director, REA, said.

He stated this at the Nigeria Energy Leadership Summit yesterday with the theme “Breaking Barriers to the New Energy Era: Clean, Reliable and Sustainable” which was organised by Informa market.

In his keynote address titled Sun, Wind and Water: Harnessing Nigeria’s Renewable Power Potential Aliyu while lamenting on the estimation of the people without electricity access globally which is 885 million people without this access stated that 85 percent of that number within sub-Saharan Africa. And the number of people without reliable access has also increased.

Looking at the report DALPA produced, Abubakar said the off-grid renewable sector that we all speak about accounts for providing electricity access to over 561 million globally. Out of this 565 million, 55 percent of that number is within sub-Saharan Africa.

The report he said found out that the impact of microeconomic factors affects the delivery of electricity access globally. So it’s not only in Nigeria. Globally, the microeconomic factors, be it inflation, be it cost of financing, slow down this electricity penetration, creating this access. It has affected almost all the countries.

“And based on this, we have now started seeing globally a trend of merger and acquisition. So the private developers that are accessing this financing to cater for this electricity access based on the fact that the impact of the macroeconomic variables and how difficult now to access financing, foreign or local financing, they have now started seeing the need to merge or they acquire smaller companies for them to increase their base and increase their ability to attract financing. So that is another big trend that we are seeing.”

The REA boss called for an improvement in the commercial viability of the players. “The private sectors must improve their financial viability.

“The entire sustainability of the mini-grid, was any project finance infrastructure, is reliably computed upon the financial viability of the player that is implementing this. Whether it’s mini-grid, whether it’s off-grid or any infrastructure financing, that viability is subject to the commercial viability of the implementing app, whether it’s the private sector or public sector. So, in the off-grid, that financial viability is contingent upon how financially lucrative and capable are the private sectors that are deploying this infrastructure app,” he said.

Co-founder, of Lihon Energy, Hakeem Disu applauded the Nigerian energy transition stating that it is the most advanced compared to other African Nations because of the opportunities to go through some of the energy transaction plans. 

His words: “The mini green and solar system that is coming from the rural electrification agency is the way governments pointed that we can use to improve livelihood and economic activities of the people in rural area.

“The net project improves investors confidence in Nigeria, its like a world bank reward grants, like a carbon credit for business that are improving or providing electricity to people in rural area. Over 75 per cent of negotiations are very much interested in renewable energy.

“Over less than 20 per cent of Nigerian population are into agriculture and most of this people live in rural area, there are so many ways this project can improve the lifelong activities of people living in rural area.

“Providing solar power irrigation to improve some sort of water irrigation and solar power dryer to preserve agriculture produce.

Earlier in his opening remarks, a representative of Informa market, Ade Yusuf said the African region is increasingly becoming a supply house for global economic growth, which is driven by its rich natural resources and the growing appetite for innovation and investment.

“Being in the market for 11 years now, the event has adapted to this new reality of the global conversation on sustainability, energy transition, and climate change. Across this dynamic region, energy markets are transforming at an unprecedented pace. In recent years, we have shifted our focus to reflect the growing importance of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the digitalization of the energy sector.

“We aim to create a conducive environment for policy development, for investment attraction, technology adoption, and the renewable energy sector,” he said