REA flags off improvement of 37 mini-grid tasks, add 18.8MW

…As Zamfara unveils electrical energy coverage, commissions 2.2MW of photo voltaic infrastructure

Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has flagged off the event of two interconnected mini-grids and 35 remoted mini-grids, representing roughly 18.8 megawatts-peak (MWp) of photo voltaic era capability in Zamfara state on Wednesday.

The new mission will join 125,106 households throughout Gummi, Gusau, Kaura Namoda, Maradun, Shinkafi, Tsafe and Zurmi Local Government Areas.

This is because the grounbreaking and commissioning occasion additionally featured the revealing of the Zamfara State Electricity Policy and the signing of a landmark collaboration settlement for the solarisation of public establishments throughout the state between the REA and the Zamfara State Government to supply a framework for increasing dependable renewable electrical energy provide to vital authorities amenities.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Dauda Lawal described the revealing of the state’s electrical energy coverage and the partnership with REA as vital steps within the authorities’s broader financial improvement technique.

“Today, we are taking deliberate steps to redefine Zamfara’s electricity future. The unveiling of our State Electricity Policy is a statement of our intention to build a structured, investment-friendly and sustainable electricity market that responds to the needs of our people and the ambitions of our economy.”

“We recognise that reliable electricity is indispensable to agricultural transformation, industrial development, healthcare delivery, education and job creation.”

“Our collaboration with the Rural Electrification Agency on the solarisation of public institutions reflects our determination to translate policy into practical infrastructure that improves the delivery of essential services.”

“We are equally committed to ensuring that renewable energy becomes an important driver of enterprise development, economic opportunity and prosperity across Zamfara State.”

“Our objective is to create an electricity ecosystem in which government provides the enabling environment, private investors bring capital and innovation, and our communities benefit from reliable and affordable electricity.”

Also talking on the occasion, the Honourable Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, described the occasion as an indication of the Federal Government’s dedication to increasing electrical energy entry and supporting state participation in electrical energy market improvement.

“Under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Federal Government is pursuing an electricity transformation strategy that recognises the critical role of decentralised infrastructure, state-level market development and private-sector investment.”

“The unveiling of the Zamfara State Electricity Policy, the groundbreaking of new mini-grid infrastructure and the commissioning of renewable energy projects demonstrate how policy reforms can be translated into practical development outcomes.”

“Electricity must do more than illuminate homes. It must power hospitals, strengthen educational institutions, support agricultural productivity, enable businesses and improve the quality of public services.”

“The Federal Government will continue to support states that are taking practical steps to develop their electricity markets and create the conditions necessary for sustainable private investment.”

“What we are witnessing in Zamfara reflects the integrated approach required to address Nigeria’s electricity challenges while creating new opportunities across the economy,” he stated.

In his remarks, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Dr. Abba Aliyu, described the Zamfara intervention as a chance to reveal a brand new mannequin of electrical energy improvement in Nigeria, combining infrastructure funding, state-level coverage reform, institutional electrification and private-sector participation.

“Today, Zamfara is doing something fundamentally important. We are moving beyond the traditional approach of treating electricity access as a series of isolated infrastructure projects towards building an integrated electricity economy supported by policy, investment, institutions and sustainable market structures.”

“Through the REA, we are advancing 37 mini-grid projects comprising two interconnected and 35 isolated systems, with approximately 18.8MWp of solar generation capacity and 125,106 planned electricity connections across seven Local Government Areas.”

“At an illustrative average of five people per household-equivalent connection, this represents a potential reach of more than 625,000 people, subject to the actual mix of household, commercial and institutional connections.”

“But these figures tell only part of the story. The real economic significance of 125,106 electricity connections is not simply the number of households that may receive power. It is the number of businesses that can become productive, the agricultural value chains that can be strengthened, the jobs that can be created, the public institutions that can function more efficiently and the private investments that reliable electricity can unlock.”

“That is why the unveiling of the Zamfara State Electricity Policy is particularly significant. Infrastructure without an enabling market framework risks becoming a collection of disconnected assets. However, when electricity infrastructure is supported by clear policies, effective institutions, commercially viable tariffs, credible regulation and predictable investment conditions, it becomes the foundation of a sustainable electricity economy.”

“The collaboration agreement we have signed with the Zamfara State Government for the solarisation of public institutions is equally strategic. Across Nigeria, public institutions continue to face the financial and operational consequences of unreliable electricity. Hospitals, schools and government facilities often depend on expensive alternative generation, diverting scarce resources away from essential services.”

“Through this partnership, our objective is to demonstrate how decentralised renewable energy can improve service delivery, reduce long-term operating costs and establish commercially sustainable models for powering critical public infrastructure.”

“More importantly, these institutions can provide anchor demand for electricity investments, helping improve project bankability and creating opportunities to extend reliable power to surrounding communities and businesses.”

“At the REA, we are increasingly focused on three fundamental outcomes: how much electricity infrastructure we can deliver, how much private capital that infrastructure can mobilise, and how much economic value each investment can create.”

“Under the $750 million World Bank-supported Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, our national ambition is to expand electricity access to approximately 17.5 million Nigerians, while supporting the development of around 1,350 mini-grids and scaling distributed renewable energy solutions.”

“Zamfara’s intervention must therefore be understood within this broader national transformation. The future of electricity access in Nigeria will not be determined by how much government can spend alone. It will be determined by how effectively government can use policy, public investment and institutional coordination to unlock private capital, establish viable electricity markets and create economic opportunities that endure long after projects have been commissioned.”

“Our ultimate ambition is not simply to connect Zamfara to electricity. It is to connect Zamfara’s people, businesses and institutions to a new economy of productivity, investment and opportunity. That is the real measure of success, and that is the transformation we are committed to delivering,” Aliyu stated.

The unveiling of the Zamfara State Electricity Policy represents an vital step in the direction of establishing a structured, commercially viable and investment-friendly electrical energy market.

With the Electricity Act 2023 offering alternatives for states to imagine higher accountability for electrical energy market improvement, Zamfara is positioning itself to draw personal funding, promote decentralised power infrastructure and align electrical energy planning with its financial improvement priorities.

The coverage is anticipated to supply strategic course for institutional coordination, market improvement, private-sector participation and the long-term sustainability of electrical energy companies.

Complementing this coverage course, the collaboration settlement between the state authorities and REA establishes a pathway for the solarisation of public establishments, together with healthcare amenities, academic establishments and different important authorities infrastructure.

As a part of the occasion, the Honourable Minister of Power commissioned two photo voltaic mini-grid tasks developed by the Zamfara State Government.

The tasks embody a 1MW photo voltaic mini-grid at Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital, designed to assist dependable electrical energy for healthcare supply, and a 1.2MW photo voltaic mini-grid serving the Zamfara State Government House, strengthening electrical energy provide for presidency operations. Together, the tasks characterize 2.2MW of commissioned photo voltaic era capability with over 3MW battery storage.

The Minister additionally unveiled 100 ZamTaxi electrical autos, marking an enlargement of unpolluted transportation initiatives within the state.

In a complementary healthcare intervention, 10 electrical tricycles devoted to maternal well being companies had been unveiled to assist improved entry to healthcare transportation, significantly for pregnant girls and moms.

Additionally, 2 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses donated by the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas (Pi-CNG) had been unveiled, reinforcing the Federal Government’s efforts to encourage different transportation fuels.

The deliberate investments are anticipated to strengthen electrical energy entry for households, business enterprises, agricultural actions and public establishments, whereas supporting native financial improvement.

The Zamfara intervention highlights the alternatives obtainable to Nigerian states because the electrical energy sector undergoes structural transformation.

By combining an electrical energy coverage framework, a pipeline of decentralised era tasks, institutional solarisation and clear mobility initiatives, Zamfara is pursuing an built-in strategy to power improvement.

The REA will proceed to assist the state by way of technical collaboration, mission improvement and private-sector engagement, with specific emphasis on the business sustainability of electrical energy infrastructure and its contribution to financial productiveness.

The collaboration settlement on public establishment solarisation additionally supplies a chance to discover scalable financing and implementation fashions that may very well be replicated throughout different states.

As Nigeria advances its electrical energy entry and power transition targets, the Zamfara initiative demonstrates how coordinated federal and state motion can assist translate sector reforms into sensible infrastructure and measurable financial advantages.