The Rural Electrification Agency, REA, has signed memoranda of understanding, MoUs, aimed at electrifying key sectors in the country, including the Nigeria Police Trust Fund, NPTF, National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, NAPTIN, and the National Agricultural Development Fund, NADF, among others.
The MoUs signed in Abuja on Friday, with five federal government agencies and nine renewable energy service companies were for the generation of about 1,000 megawatts of electricity through solar systems.
REA is seeking to catalyse $1.1 billion private sector investments using the federal government’s $750 million World Bank loan to provide seed capital.
Managing director/CEO of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, noted that the partnership was more than a formal signing. “This is a roadmap, a partnership between the REA and these agencies to tackle Nigeria’s electricity challenges,” he emphasised.
Following the recent enactment of Electricity Act 2023, which decentralised and liberalised Nigeria’s electricity sector, Aliyu stressed the importance of a coordinated approach to ensure efficient interventions.
“The REA, by virtue of the Act, is required to develop the National Electricity Strategy and Implementation Plan, a bottom-up approach that will map each community’s infrastructure and integrate it into a national plan.
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“This plan will encompass targeted strategies for sectors such as education, health, and agriculture, with the Nigeria Agricultural Development Fund playing a key role,” Aliyu explained.
“In total, we are looking at 1,000MW portfolio generation capacity across the country over a period of three years. In monetary terms, one of the greatest achievements of the Mr. President is the catalysing of the $750 million Distributed Access Rural Renewable Energy Scale-up funding that is managed by the REA.
“This $750 million is supposed to catalyse $1.1 billion private sector investment. What we are doing here is to catalyse that $1.1bn while the $750 million will be used as a capital subsidy to incentives the private sector to put in their $1.1 billion towards providing these electricity infrastructure in the country,” he added.
He also highlighted the security aspect of the initiative. “One of the key drivers of electrification is to address the security challenge in the country. We are signing structured arrangements with these agencies to enhance their work in addressing security challenges,” he said, underscoring the importance of working with the NIS and NPTF.
However, Aliyu noted that the task of electrification would largely rely on the private sector. “The minister of Power has made it clear that the government alone cannot address the electricity challenge.
To further this goal, REA signed additional MoUs with several RESCOs that have demonstrated the capacity to invest in Nigeria’s renewable energy sector. “These RESCOs bring resilience and an ability to incentivize financing, which is critical for addressing our energy challenges,” said Aliyu.
Head of the Nigeria Electrification Project, Olufemi Akinyelure, said the REA has developed the Renewable Energy Service Companies, RESCOs, Strategy as part of its broader efforts to scale up improve energy access, particularly in underserved and off-grid rural areas and ensure sustainability of off-grid projects.
He highlighted the benefits of the RESCO model, which leverages private-sector investment and expertise while REA provides support through policy frameworks and financing. “This collaborative model ensures the long-term success of off-grid electrification projects and makes energy accessible and affordable, especially for low-income households and businesses through flexible payment options like the Pay-As-You-Go system,” Akinyelure explained.
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