KEY POINTS
- REA plans to provide electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians.
- Mini-grids and solar systems anchor REA’s rural electrification push.
- The agency’s projects aim to improve lives and productivity nationwide
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) says it is implementing several programmes designed to expand electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians, as part of ongoing efforts to connect rural and underserved communities.
Managing Director Abba Aliyu disclosed this during an interview in Abuja at the agency’s 2025 Customer Service Week, organised in collaboration with SERVICOM.
Expanding electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians
Aliyu said the agency had already built a significant number of mini-grids and was advancing multiple initiatives to strengthen rural power supply. He noted that under the Rural Electrification Fund, more than 50 mini-grids have been deployed, while 11 additional mini-grids were rolled out under the Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme. He said the goal of providing electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians was ambitious but achievable through sustained collaboration and innovation.
“From our records, we have impacted over 10 million Nigerians,” Aliyu said. “This has been achieved in the last five years under the Nigeria Electrification Programme. The Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme, which is only three years old, has already delivered several commissioned projects.”
Sustaining electricity access for 17.5 million Nigerians
Reflecting on the Customer Service Week, Aliyu said the celebration provided an opportunity for self-assessment, noting that over 80 million Nigerians still lack reliable electricity. He said the event encouraged the agency to measure service quality, timeliness, and affordability, adding that its progress aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s drive to broaden power access nationwide.
Aliyu recalled visiting Balanga, a farming community in Gombe State without electricity for over 30 years. Working with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, the REA is now providing the community with 620 kilowatts of power to support its 11,000 hectares of wheat farms.
REA’s Executive Director of Technical Services, Umar Umar, said the agency has implemented numerous projects since its establishment in 2007, including grid extensions, transformer installations, and mini-grid development. He disclosed that in the past year alone, REA delivered 40 megawatts of mini-grid power, its highest in a single budget cycle, along with solar home systems, streetlights, and electric vehicle charging points.
The Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund, Doris Ubo, added that REA executed about 50 mini-grids between 2016 and 2022 and has since scaled up to over 124 across Nigeria. According to Punch, a recent project, she said, targets 3,700 communities and will add 370 megawatts of clean energy to the national grid, reaching over 40 million people.
REA’s Executive Director of Corporate Services, Ayo Adegboyega, reaffirmed that bridging the country’s energy access gap remains central to the agency’s mission. He highlighted the Energising Education Programme, which supplies captive power to universities such as the University of Lagos, Ibadan, Benin, and Calabar, with plans to extend to Obafemi Awolowo University and several polytechnics.
Eworo Echeng, Acting Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, praised the agency’s progress, saying REA’s goal goes beyond power supply. “Our responsibility is to improve lives and livelihoods through reliable electricity,” he said. “Every project must ensure that every Nigerian, regardless of where they live, can access sustainable energy.”
