FG signs agreements for increased access to power through renewable energy

The Federal Government, through its implementing agency, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has signed grant agreements with seven renewable energy investors under the World Bank-funded Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).

Stakeholders in the power sector and representatives from international donor agencies witnessed the grants agreement signing for Performance-Based Grant (PBG) and Output-Based Fund (OBF), which held last Friday at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

The agreements are OBF for the sale of solar home systems to homes and businesses across the country, while PBG is for the deployment of mini-grids to un-served and underserved communities.

The first six companies to be signed to the OBF are A4&T Integrated Services Limited, ASOLAR Systems Nigeria Limited, Txtlight Power Solutions Limited (Lumos Nigeria), Greenlight Planet, Smarter Grid International and Solar Energy by D. light Limited.

With these grants, the companies will play a major role in enabling the NEP Solar Home Systems (SHS) component to achieve its goal of electrifying one million homes in five years, using renewable energy solutions.

PowerGen Renewable Energy is the first company to sign the PGB under the NEP mini-grids component. Under this partnership, PowerGen will deploy mini-grids to Rokota community in Niger State.

Mini-Grids Component Head, Lolade Abiola, leads the project to provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity to 300,000 homes and 30,000 local businesses with mini-grids.

Lolade noted that the event was an attestation to both local and foreign investors that the Federal Government was ready to leverage on renewable energy technologies to increase access to electricity.

REA Managing Director, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, expressed optimism over the government’s determination to transform the power sector in accordance with its Next Level agenda. She acknowledged the support of the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to improve electricity access through the provision of grant funding and technical assistance.

“REA, in collaboration with the Federal Government, has secured funds from the World Bank ($350m) and ADB ($200m). These funds will go a long way in helping us connect communities, schools, and homes to constant electricity,” she said.