The Rural Electrification Agency and private developer Nayo Tropical Technology Limited partnered to commissioned a 40KwP Solar Hybrid Mini-grid this past weekend about 100 years after the founding of the area.
It is reported that over 138 families, the community clinic, two community schools, 16 commercial users, and 11 productive users were receiving clean, sustainable electricity through the 40kWp solar hybrid mini-grid, according to Thisday.
Commenting on the development, Managing Director of the REA, Abba Aliyu, who was represented by the Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Doris Uboh, stated that to sustain the initiative there was the need to ensure reasonable and affordable rates for the community.
According to Aliyu, the initiative was unlikely to fail because the community’s indigenous members formed the Rural Electricity Users Cooperative Society (REUCS) to supervise project maintenance and ensure its survival.
“A lot of funds have been sunk into this project, so you cannot expect it to be free. What you should expect is a reasonable tariff for the community to be able to afford it and gradually grow their business,” he said
He maintained that the project will fail and stay unsustainable in the absence of any kind of tariff.
“If you give it for free, that means you want this place to collapse because you won’t be able to sustain it. And the sustainability plan, like we said earlier on, is to inaugurate a committee that will be made up of indigenes of this community. They will be trained on how to handle minor maintenance on the panels.
“So we do have plans to make sure that this goes a long way. The batteries of this project, the panels, we have plans in place to ensure the project’s sustainability,” Aliyu said.
The REA is the implementing agency of the federal government under the Federal Ministry of Power tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities to catalyse economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians.
The aims of the sheme, which was carried out through the Rural Electrification Agency as part of the REF Call 2 program, was to give underprivileged communities in Nigeria access to reliable, inexpensive, and clean power.
Aliyu underlines that Nigeria’s off-grid renewable energy ecosystem will remain a major engine of the country’s economy.
He emphasized that the multifaceted impact of the REA’s national reach demonstrated how the interventions in underserved and unserved communities were acting as catalysts for real sustainable development.
“The energy sector is going through a phase that is unprecedented in the sector’s history and at the REA, we are delighted to be tasked with a mandate that allows us to deliver real solutions to real life problems,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, represented by her Special Adviser, Michael
Bawa said that the initiative has the capacity to drive a socioeconomic shift in the neighborhood.
She said, “Beyond the illumination of a vibrant community such as Rafinzurfi, there is no doubt that the men, women, and children in this community will now experience socioeconomic transformation like never before. Electricity is a catalyst, and access to sustainable electricity creates opportunities and possibilities for previously unconnected citizens.
