The Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) has secured funding from the World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) to close the energy access gap in communities across Nigeria.
According to the Head of the Project Management Unit at NEP, Anitu Otubu, the Nigerian government has also partnered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Nigeria Power Sector Programme, GIZ’s Nigeria Energy Support Programme (NESP), UK-Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), to provide technical expertise to help the government address the issues around power supply in the country.
She said the project is being implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), a government agency under the Federal Ministry of Power.
“The REA was established to help bridge the energy access gap in the country between the underserved and unserved, with special emphasis on the last-mile areas.
According to her, the government, through the REA, is embarking on renewable energy off-grid solutions in terms of isolated and interconnected mini-grids, solar home systems and captive solar hybrid power plants.
“It takes a lot of money to achieve universal access to power, so we work with private sector players who are able to secure financing to increase energy access. Private sector players, though may be passionate about socio-economic empowerment for the unserved, are also profit-driven.
