Renewable Energy: Understanding the REA’s Mandate

By James Madaki 

Many Nigerians could be readily forgiven if they tell you they do not know much about the one parastatal of government called the Rural Electrification Agency, REA. In fact, many educated folks do not know this agency. And even if they know, they do know much about what the agency does and even what its mandates are. 

The reason for this is that we have, for decades, looked at government for provision of electricity until the deregulation of the sector and attendant breakdown of subsectors like generation, transmission and distribution. The DISCOS have been responsible for distribution while those who are into generation and transmission are not known that much since they don’t interface with members of the public as much as the DISCOS do. 

Beyond all these, however, little do Nigerians know that there are many communities and villages that are not connected to the national grid. Apart from this, there are schools, hospitals and other concerns whose electricity needs cannot be met by the DISCOS due to epileptic supplies and other attendant challenges that sector faces as its strives to meet the electricity needs of Nigerians. 

 This is where the issue of renewable energy comes in and the critical relevance of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, becomes more instructive. 

The REA is a critical Agency in the nation’s energy sector. Beyond this, the Agency is positioned as an implementing tool for improved energy access amongst the unserved and the underserved. Through the Agency’s deliberate collaboration with key stakeholders in the nation’s off-grid space, it has greatly improved productive collaborations with private sector players and development partners over the years. 

Since2020, the current management approached the business of electrification differently, through a five-year strategy document that has strengthened the internal workings of the Agency, improved the Agency’s project delivery vehicles and activated new suite of programmes targeted at critical ecosystems such as the health sector, agriculture and education.

The REA strategy has equally succeeded in positioning the Agency for deeper-level impact on livelihoods while enabling the private sector to plug into it for the sustainable deployment of projects through a programmatic framework. 

TheVision

Nigeria achieves universal access to affordable, secure and sustainable electricity, thus improving the quality of life and economic opportunities for unserved and underserved communities, implement and coordinate, promote a sustainable market, powering Nigeria, One Community at a Time Through the National Electricity Programme Performance-Based Grant Programme NEP-PBG, is design to close the viability gap forming rids developed on a spontaneous basis. Using this grant mechanism, communities are identified, verified and sensitized by mini-grid developers and they may also use this window to support development of pre-planned projects in their portfolios. In the last three years, the Agency has successfully drawn-in viable private sector developers, enabling them to access the grant while accelerating the deployment rate to close the energy gap in communities across Nigeria.

Feeling the Impact

As part of the Agency’s plan for accelerated deployment of off-grid infrastructure through the NEP, 67 solar hybrid mini-grids have been deployed through the National Electricity Programme, NEP – PBG, with over 52MW of PV capacity deployed. Over 90% of the NEP-PBG impact was delivered between 2020 and 2022. These interventions continue to serve previously unserved and underserved communities nationwide while aiding social and economic development through productive use.Over200,000 additional connections currently in the pipeline.

Over one million stand-alone solar homes systems have been installed, powering households, medium and small scale enterprises and public facilities. The capacity of the systems ranges from 6Wp to 1,800Wp translating to over 24,176.152kW (24.1MW) of installed capacity across the 36 states in Nigeria. The Agency delivered on over 95% of the NEP-SHS impact between the year 2020 and 2022. The NEP-SHS component is one of the fastest growing components being implemented by the Agency, catalyzing PUEs in off-grid communities.

The Nigeria Electrification Project’s ‘results-based financing for Productive Appliances and equipment’ component aims to increase the productive use of energy in remote communities by increase in access to efficient, electric productive equipment. The component targets to electrify 24,500MSMEs and 1,050,000 with improved access to energy services from productive use systems. This component is designed to increase the productive use of energy (PUE)in rural communities by facilitating accesstoenergy-efficient, electric productive equipment; encourage developers to make productive use of power and energy-efficient appliances part of their overall strategy for mini-grid viability; and activate the energy-efficient productive use appliance and equipment market.

Delivering Impact through the Rural Electrification Fund, REF, between 2020 and 2021, the REA prioritized the completion of all projects under the First Call of the Nigeria Government’s Rural Electrification Fund, REF, and equally secured approval for the activation of the Second REF Call, with implementation of REF Call Two now ongoing.

The Mini-Grid deployed under REF Call One included but not limited to the following: 30kWp solar mini-grid at Bambami village in Batagarawa local government area of Katsina State; 90kWpkWp solar mini-grid at Kare and Dadin Kowa villages in Arewa local government area of Kebbi State; 85kWp solar mini-grid at Dakiti community in Akko local government area of Gombe State; 40kWp solar mini-grid at Goto Sarki community in Paikoro local government area of Niger State; 100kWp solar hybrid mini-grid at Budo Are community in Itesiwaju local government area of Oyo State; 91kWp

solar hybrid mini-grid in Sarkin Kudu community, Ibi local government area of Taraba State; 100kWp solar hybrid mini-grid at Olooji community in Ijebu East local government area of OgunState as well as 100kWp solar hybrid mini-grid at Adebayo community in Ovia South local government area of Edo State. 

Upon completion of all REF Call 1 projects (mini-grids and SHS), the Agency connected over 24,000 households to clean, safe and reliable energy. Over 5,000 renewable energy jobs were created during the construction phase of these projects while about 1,140Kg of Co2 emission was saved. Nine out of the 12 REF Call One solar hybrid mini-grids were delivered between 2020 and 2021. These projects have catalyzed socio-economic activities across the beneficiary communities. 

Implementing REF Call Two 

Having secured approval for the 2nd Call of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF Call Two), the REA has kick-started the delivery of the objectives of this Call. This Call is deliberately targeted at delivering on both infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects like grid extension, mini grids, interconnected mini-grids and standalone Systems as well as innovative programmes that align with the REA mandate. Upon completion, 51mini-grids would be deployed, earning 17,000 additional renewable energy connections across the country. With work ongoing in beneficiary communities across the country, seven out of the 51 projects have been successfully completed. These included 100kWp isolated solar mini-grid B in Muza

Yabo, Sokoto; 100kWp isolated solar mini-grid in Farun Daba community, Kazaure, Jigawa. Both are in the North-West. 80kWp isolated solar mini-grid Abule Oluwo-Oke community in Obafemi Owode local government area of Ogun State, South-West and 100kWp interconnected mini-grid Viukutha village in Biu, Borno State in the North-East; 100kWp isolated mini-grid Rafinzurah community and 100kWp in Gwagwalada in Abuja. 

Implementing the Federal Government’s Capital Projects

As part of its mandate, the REA is tasked with equitably implementing electrification projects, leveraging

The Federal Government’s Capital Appropriation. Over the years, the implementation of Capital Projects has evolved from the traditional grid extension solutions to more renewable, data-driven electrification solutions such as solar hybrid mini-grids, standalone solar home systems as well as solar-powered street lights.

Space will not allow me to reel out what this under-celebrated agency is doing. But the above will give an idea of what it is doing and what it is going to do to ensure that Nigerians, wherever they are, have access to electricity supply as well as exploiting the opportunity of renewable energy by those who feel underserved. This will help to bridge the gap between power needed and power supplied. 

James Madaki, a renewable energy expert, wrote in from Kaduna.