REA signs 267 grant agreements worth $395million under NEP

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) said it signed 267 grant agreements worth $395million with private developers to provide electricity for unserved and underserved Nigerians under the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).

With a total loan facility of $550million from the World Bank and African Development Bank, it said over one million homes have been connected.

The agency’s Managing Director (MD), Engr. Ahmed Salihijo, made the disclosure at a briefing in Abuja yesterday stating that a total of 569 applications were received.

According to him, the loan facility is targeted at providing off-grid, reliable, and clean electricity supply to 705,000 households, 90,000 MSMEs, 100 isolation and treatment centres and 400 Primary Healthcare Centres in underserved and unserved areas across the country.

In a breakdown, he said the $550million NEP loan facility comprises five components-$213million solar hybrid mini-grid, $75million stand alone solar home systems, $250million Energizing Education Programme, $20million Energy Efficient Equipment and Productive Use Appliances and $37million technical assistance.

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So far, he said five million Nigerians have been electrified adding that the impact was shared across the country.

“The REA has the mandate of taking power to unserved and underserved Nigerians. How it goes about doing this depends on where the funding comes from. According to the rural electrification strategy plan, we have targets to reach Nigerians everywhere in the country and the numbers at the moment are being quoted to be as high as 80 million people.

“What we are used to doing is every year we wait and get government’s money from the budget, go to the site and then implement the projects. However, if you are to do this for the next 100 years, you will not be able to meet those targets hence it became important for the agency to ensure that its mandate does not end at implementation.”

On her part, Anita Otubu explained that under the NEP 67 mini grids have been completed, while 26 containerized solar systems deployed to health facilities.

“We have 67 mini grids and under that same component, I mentioned the COVID-19 and beyond programme, right, we’ve been able to complete 26 or deploy 26 containerized solar hybrid solutions for 26 health care facilities.

“We also like to mention carbon emissions that have been saved and the government we have about 249,193 tonnes of emissions saved. So far we have a total of 52 megawatts of PV capacity deployed as a result of all of these products I have mentioned,” she said.