THE SOLAR ELECTRIFICATION PROJECT

The energy- for- all scheme will impact positively on the health and education sectors, writes Ofem Uket

The Minister of State for Power, Goddy Jedy Agba has said that the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) will commence the provision of solar electricity to 200 primary health centres and the distribution of solar home systems to 104 Unity Schools, across the six geo-political zones under the Economic Sustainability Programme (ESP).

The programme which is expected to be completed in 12 months, is a Presidential initiative driven by the Federal Ministry of Power tagged, Energy for All- Mass Rural Electrification. It is geared towards supporting the country’s economic recovery and growth plan to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 in the political economy of the nation. Agba declared that the mass solar electrification projects will create jobs and facilitate energy access to unserved and undeserved areas in line with federal government’s plan to have 30 per cent of its total electricity supply from renewable sources, especially solar power by 2030.

In a statement by the Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy to the minister of state, Mr. Ofem Uket, the minister emphasized that the federal government initiative is to strengthen and close the energy gap in the health sector through the deployment of solar-hybrid captive power solutions to 100 secondary and tertiary health facilities which have also served as isolation and treatment centres across the country in the Covid-19 scourge. According to the minister, the mass solar electrification will strengthen the functionality of health centres, unity schools and communities that were in time past faced with the absence of electricity.

The REA is currently implementing the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), Energizing Education Proramme (EEP), Grid Extension (capital projects), Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI) and Solar Power Naija Proramme.

Only a few days back, the minister commissioned a 1. 848 solar PV modules located on the roof of Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja, generating approximately 850 Megawatts of electricity per year. This provision will eliminate the use of diesel that produces about 13, 000 carbon emission.

Clearly, primary health centres and secondary schools in the country went through very difficult management strategies to provide electricity for a strengthened capacity in secondary education and health care system; but the intervention strategy of the present administration has changed the narrative of complete absence of power in primary health and secondary schools.

Government has formulated relevant policies to extend minimum use of electricity to secondary schools and primary health institutions; however, the power sector reforms became a reality when government opted to provide clean and renewable energy in Federal Universities and University Teaching Hospitals across the country, and the programme has been extended to secondary schools and primary health centers.

Solar energy is clean and renewable. It is best way to go in the 21st century. The REA has flagged off and commissioned solar projects across the country like never before in the last one year of the new management team headed by Engr Ahmed Salihijo. Mr Salihijo had since assumption of office as Managing Director, showed unalloyed commitment and capacity to drive the process of growth in the power sector, as communities plunged into darkness in the past are now enjoying clean and renewable energy at home. He has unveiled the rural power provision structure of government and translated same into reality through energy efficiency projects that are completed and some are ongoing, located across the six-geo-political zones in the country.

The primary health and secondary schools electrification project is carefully designed by government to empower communities and drive the process of development in the two major sectors of our national life. Through these projects, artisans, skilled and unskilled workers would be engaged, creating more jobs for the youths.

Government policy trust is to reduce deaths and worsening conditions of the health of our people as mostly seen where primary health centers cannot make use of small and medium scale equipment because of the absence of electricity, incessant shortages of water supply and other factors that require power to function effectively.

Secondary school students are faced with the high spate of kidnap, yet only few schools have capacity to provide electricity through generating plants in their local institutions. With the advent of this programme, adequate security in secondary schools can be assured as movement of people can be monitored at night. Besides, students will have long hours to study.

Political economy globally is focused on developing critical sectors that have direct impact on the lives of the people, and in this context, the health and education sectors are taken on through the Presidential initiative on power to ensure that primary health centres and secondary schools in the country are provided with adequate electricity.

Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy and home to approximately 10% of the un-electrified population of sub-Saharan Africa, and 77 million Nigerians (40% of the population) have no access to affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity. In practice, diesel and petrol-fuelled back-up generators becomes major source of supply.

Under the Paris Agreement, over 60% of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions are foreseen in the power sector, and the federal government is maximally ensuring that the use of clean and renewable energy is introduced across the country to determine available pathways to meet its 2030 electricity access, renewables and decarbonization goals in the power sector.

There are three potential scenarios for electrification and growth in demand, generation and transmission capacity. The demand assumptions incorporate existing knowledge on pathways for electrification via grid extension, mini-grids and solar home systems (SHS).

The supply rates are built upon an evaluation of the investment pipeline for generation and transmission capacity, and possible scale-up rates up to 2030. It is therefore expected that in the most ambitious green transition scenario, Nigeria meets its electricity access goals, whereby those connected to the grid achieve a Tier 3 level of access, and those served by sustainable off-grid solutions (mini-grids and SHS), achieve same.