Mbah Poised to Attract ₦310bn Distributed Solar Power Programme to Enugu

Bennett Oghifo

Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has pledged the state government’s support for a proposed 100-megawatt Solar Hybrid Interconnected Networks for Enugu (SHINE) programme estimated at $220 million, or about ₦310 billion, as the state moves to expand electricity access and strengthen its power market.

If successfully completed the programme will be the first of its kind in any state in Nigeria and a significant boost to the government’s green economic transformation agenda.

The proposed investment, presented by Eauxwell Nigeria Limited at a meeting with Governor Mbah at Government House on Monday, October 5, 2026, represents the first major investment engagement brokered by the state’s Climate and Development Investment Platform (CDIP).

The governor welcomed the investment proposal but challenged the company and relevant stakeholders to ensure that the programme delivers affordable electricity, a competitive market and faster project implementation.

Eauxwell outlined its ambition to develop a 100MW programme of solar hybrid plants across Enugu State, to be deployed in clusters of peri-urban communities connected to the existing electricity distribution network.

The company plans to implement the programme in phases over three years.

As the first phase, Eauxwell has identified the Eha-Amufu and Owo cluster, involving a 10MW solar plant equipped with battery storage to serve 30 communities located along the two feeders between the towns.

The company said the initial plant has already been designed to pre-construction stage.

The proposed Eha-Amufu and Owo project is estimated to cost approximately ₦31 billion, or $22 million, with the financing structure expected to combine equity, debt and grant funding through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

Olufemi Akinyelure, Head of the Nigeria Electrification Programme at the REA, joined the meeting virtually to explain the structure, objectives and implementation processes of the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme.

The investment discussion also covered electricity tariffs, commercial arrangements and the practical requirements for delivering the proposed solar projects.

Implementation of the programme, however, remains subject to the completion of relevant agreements, regulatory approvals, land arrangements and applicable financing conditions.

Governor Mbah stressed the importance of competition as Enugu continues to implement reforms in its electricity sector and exercises regulatory oversight of the intrastate electricity market.

He also placed affordability at the centre of the discussions, examining Eauxwell’s tariff assumptions and financial model.

The governor said investors should be able to recover legitimate costs and secure viable returns, but electricity tariffs must also remain affordable for households and businesses.

Eauxwell acknowledged the need to balance the commercial viability of the projects with affordability and said the final tariff would be determined in collaboration with electricity regulators.

Mbah also called for a shorter implementation timetable and pledged the state government’s support to facilitate faster delivery.

The proposed solar hybrid network is expected to provide more dependable electricity for households and businesses, while supporting agricultural processing and other productive activities in beneficiary communities.

According to Eauxwell’s proposal, battery storage will complement the solar generation system, with the Eha-Amufu and Owo plant serving as the first cluster before additional clusters are developed across the state.

The engagement was brokered through CDIP by its Coordinator and the Governor’s Special Adviser on Climate Policy and Sustainable Development, Professor Chukwumerije Okereke.

The platform is intended to connect investors with government decision-makers, regulators and communities while helping resolve the institutional, regulatory and development challenges that can delay climate and infrastructure projects.

The meeting brought together the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia who also chairs the CDIP Steering Committee, as well as the Commissioners for Environment and Climate Change, Trade and Investment, and Lands.

The Governor’s advisers on Project Delivery and Power, alongside electricity regulators, also participated.

The meeting further reviewed the separate Aninri electrification project, which the state government said it was working to move into construction, with work expected to commence in the coming weeks.

The state government said the CDIP engagement had brought together the institutions required to address barriers to the proposed investment and move the project towards implementation.

With the governor’s backing, the immediate task is to translate the proposed ₦310 billion SHINE programme into agreed commercial terms, regulatory approvals, financing arrangements and, ultimately, reliable and affordable electricity for communities across Enugu State.

The broad participation of relevant ministries, departments and agencies at the meeting also underscored the state government’s strategy of using CDIP to strengthen coordination and accelerate climate, energy and development investments