The Federal Government of Nigeria will be deploying the $750 million loan from the World Bank to address challenges in the energy sector and boost power generation and supply to Nigerians.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made the announcement while speaking at the stakeholder’s engagement workshop organized by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
World Bank commits $750 million to electricity
According to The Vanguard, Adelabu was represented by Dr Suunday Owolabi, the Director, Renewable and Rural Power Access.
He noted that the government was prioritizing off-grid electricity supply to address the electricity challenge in Nigeria.
He said:
“Our partners at the World Bank have committed $750 million to this groundbreaking project and we are certain that over 13 million Nigerians will be impacted through the DARES (Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up).”
According to Adelabu, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved N161 million worth of contracts, at a recent Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, to upgrade power substations.
Under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), 14 existing substations would be upgraded, and 21 new ones established, and these projects would deliver an additional 150MW to the grid.
He noted that the several renewable energy projects initiated by the federal government are projected to impact no less than 13 million people in Nigeria.
More funds to boost electricity
Another $700 million received from the African Development Bank (AfDB) has also been earmarked to fund the “Desert to Power” initiative, with a target of using the abundant sunlight in Northern Nigeria to generate sufficient renewable energy for communities across the country.
The managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Engineer Abba Aliyu, added that the agency had deployed 124 mini-grids and 25,580 solar home systems with a combined capacity of 16.6MW, with 195,198 connections in 183 communities and 12 markets benefiting from the Rural Electrification Funds.
He also revealed the plans to provide continuous power supply to 3,700 primary healthcare centers, 25 schools, and 25 communities in each state, and the FCT.
Recurrent national grid collapse
Meanwhile, Legit had reported several power outages in the country this year due to the recurrent national grid collapse.
One of the latest grid collapses in November, threw Nigeria into a blackout and led many to fall back on alternative power generation options.
This was the 10th recorded collapse in the year, and the second within three days.
