The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has announced that its 2023 Capital Projects have impacted over 1.4 million unserved Nigerians, providing sustainable energy solutions to alleviate energy poverty and boost socioeconomic growth.
REA’s Managing Director and CEO, Abba Aliyu Abubakar said this on Monday in Abuja
During the 2023 Project Implementation Report Presentation.
He explained that the Agency has implemented a range of energy access solutions, including Solar MiniGrids, Solar Water Pumps, Solar Home Systems, and Solar Street Lights, across the six geopolitical zones.
The projects, valued at over N10 billion, include the deployment of 2,631 standalone solar home systems, 18,670 solar streetlights, 15 solar mini-grids, 1,666 solar-powered irrigation pumps, and 106 transformers with a capacity of 37,800KVA.
REA’s Executive Director, Technical Services, Umar Abudullai, noted that the Agency has optimized the deployment of multiple technologies to meet the unique needs of beneficiary communities, leveraging a data-driven approach to project implementation.
MUST READ:Court Orders Arrest of Rural Electrification Agency Staff for Multi-Million Naira Fraud
The REA has also reinforced its monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure the sustainability and quality of the energy solutions being deployed.
In addition, the Agency is set to expand its efforts in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) through the Light Up Abuja sustainability project.
Abubakar revealed that REA is keying into the initiative and plans to implement more projects under the Light Up Abuja project in 2024, as well as the Decentralized Energy (DE) project.
This move he said is expected to further enhance energy access and socioeconomic development in the FCT and beyond.
He added that the Agency’s interventions, spread across the entire country, have improved socioeconomic development, enabled productive use of energy for agriculture, strengthened local commerce, security, gender inclusion, and job creation.
With a total capital appropriation of N31.7 billion, the REA says it utilized N227 million for consultancy services, N446 million for deploying mini-grid electric vehicles, N6.3 billion for grid extension, and N131 million for deploying solar home systems.
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
