Power: AfDB, EU Consider Strategies to Connect 95 Million Rural Nigerians to Electricity.
The European Union (EU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are reassessing their financing strategies to bridge Nigeria’s significant electricity supply gap, which has left approximately 95 million people without power. Chief Adetayo Olowoniyi, Chief Technical Adviser at the Federal Ministry of Power, highlighted this during the Energy Access Investment Forum (EAIF) in Lagos on Tuesday.
Olowoniyi emphasized that Nigeria’s weak grid system has excluded a vast portion of the population from the electricity market, leaving them in darkness for decades. “It is still not clear as to how and when this population would be energized,” he noted, adding that the country’s intervention capacity is insufficient to provide electricity to such a large number of people.
The forum, recognized as the top annual investment event for the renewable electrification sector, aims to foster business and investor partnerships to promote sustainable electricity access, decarbonization, economic growth, and climate change mitigation. The EAIF 2024 is organized by the Alliance for Rural Electrification, co-hosted by the Delegation of the European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS, and supported by GET.
Olowoniyi stressed that expanding and sustaining private investments is crucial to bridging the existing gap in the system. Meanwhile, Mr. Abba Aliyu, Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), stated that the Agency has been deploying off-grid solutions across the country to reduce this gap. He highlighted the utilization of a $750 million grant aimed at providing access to electricity for a significant number of people.
Aliyu elaborated on the World Bank-approved Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) project, financed by a $750 million International Development Association (IDA) credit. “This would leverage over $1 billion of private capital and significant parallel financing from development partners,” he said. The project aims to provide over 17.5 million Nigerians with new or improved access to electricity through distributed renewable energy solutions.
The REA CEO noted that the DARES project will build on the successes of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), which has established 125 mini-grids and sold over a million Solar Home Systems, granting more than 5.5 million Nigerians access to electricity. “We are committed to expanding clean energy-based access in Nigeria,” Aliyu stated.
Inga Stefanowicz from the EU provided further details on the Union’s support for Nigeria’s renewable energy market, which includes energy efficiency initiatives, policy and regulatory support, and investments in on- and off-grid renewable energy infrastructure. She highlighted ongoing projects such as Small Hydro Power Development for Agro-industry Use in Nigeria and the Nigeria Solar for Health Project, which are part of the EU’s efforts to support Nigeria’s transition to a green and just economy.
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Stefanowicz mentioned several significant funding projects, including a €4 million initiative by UNIDO, a €1.7 million Solar for Health Project by NTU International, and a €30 million project by EDFI MC, supplemented by a €60 million loan from AFD. She also noted a €25 million project, along with a €220 million loan from AFD, dedicated to improving the Northern corridor’s Katsina-Kano transmission line. “These investments are all aimed at enhancing the power sector in Nigeria,” Stefanowicz said.
The collaborative efforts of the EU, AfDB, and other international partners are aimed at overcoming the significant infrastructure and policy challenges that have hindered the development of Nigeria’s power sector, ultimately striving to bring electricity to millions of underserved Nigerians.
