The Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has disclosed that it has provided power to 7.5 million Nigerians to enhance energy security from 2020 to date.
The agency also said it had initiated viable reform programmes to demystify its operations and promote probity in project execution for effective service delivery.
The acting Director, the Department of Promotion, Information and Outreach of the agency, Muntari Ibrahim, who disclosed this in a statement he issued over the weekend in Abuja, said the projects being implemented with the support of the World Bank and other development partners are designed to ensure uninterrupted power supply, provide job opportunities and encourage growth of small businesses in the country.
He listed the projects to include the electricity supply to 1.5 million households, delivering 130 Mini-Grid Projects and 1.3 million standalone home systems as well as deployment of over 1,650km of solar streetlights to improve power, security, and economic growth in rural areas.
The agency, he said, also completed 1,403 projects including solar streetlights, mini-grids, standalone home systems, and grid extension works.
Others, according to him, are delivering 65 MW of power across six geo-political zones through various initiatives such as Energising Education Programme; Energising Programme, Agriculture Programme, Beyond COVID-19, and Economic Clusters.
“REA has delivered over 500MW of power, electrified numerous communities, created 500,000 new jobs, and attracted over $2 billion in investments in the renewable energy sector over the past decade.
“In advancing these achievements; we have established partnerships with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Global Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Sustainable Energy for ALL (SE4ALL), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), the European Union, the United Nations Industrial Development.
“The United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Korean Institute of Advancement of Technology (KIAT), among others,” he said.
“In 2022, as part of the National Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (NPRGS) programme, the Agency secured an additional 4 billion in capital injection grant to provide clean power standalone home systems to over 50,000 locations, including rural homes, micro-businesses, schools, and faith-based institutions.
“Most recently, on the back of the success of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), REA negotiated and secured the advance approval of a $750 million facility with the World Bank to expand renewable and rural electrification initiatives, providing additional resources to Nigeria during a challenging period,” he said.
According to Ibrahim, in response to fuel subsidy removal, the agency is implementing interventions to develop electric mobility, and mini-grids, distribute home systems, and deploy streetlights to support about 250,000 households in the coming year.
On service reform, Ibrahim said the agency initiated viable programmes with the approval of the Federal Ministry of Power and Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation to promote probity and transparency in its operations.
He said the reform programmes also focused on addressing manpower shortage and improving staff welfare to achieve quality service delivery.
While reiterating his commitment to the anti-corruption campaign, Ibrahim said the management of the agency was geared towards aligning electrification projects to improve the lives of rural dwellers.
The agency, he said, achieved significant feats through pragmatic budgeting for capital projects in the implementation of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), Energizing Education Programme (EEP), Rural Electrification Fund (REF), and Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI).
The spokesman dismissed misleading reports insinuating alleged resource mismanagement by the agency.
He, therefore, urged the people to support the Agency in its bid to ensure uninterrupted power supply to unserved and underserved areas in Nigeria in line with the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Tinubu.
