Between 2020 and 2022, Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency (REA) completed 1,375 capital projects worth N45.89 billion across the country's six geopolitical zones.
This information was featured in the agency's report on strategic interventions for the year 2022, according to Business Day, a Nigerian business publication. The report showed that the agency provided 450 MW of power to communities in three years.
According to the REA report on its strategic interventions for the year 2022, the Agency also lit up Communities with 450 MW Power in three years, where the impact assessment played a critical role in addressing challenges such as inaccessible technology, electricity, and water; gender inclusion; and overreliance on petrol and diesel, among others.
“This assessment is important in improving the outcome and impact of future interventions. The electrification programmes, and projects alike, were a success, with wide acceptance in the beneficiary communities. Beneficiaries consisting mainly farmers, households, women and youths were deeply impacted from a social, environmental, and economic standpoint,’’ the report read in part.
According to the Agency, during the decade, REA implemented over 2,000 electrification projects, benefiting an estimated 5,000,000 Nigerians over the country.
The report showed the total installed capacity under the capital projects was anticipated to be over 600 MW-equivalent to over 1,000,000 connections.
Additionally, the report also reveeals that six towns will be supplied with a 100-kW solar mini-grid system by 2022. The systems were created to favor productive users, such as agro-processing companies, households, commercial users, and public spaces.
An extract from the report reads, ‘’over 8,155 lives and 5,000 active farmers have been impacted with uninterrupted power supply and clean affordable water, translating to over 60 direct and indirect jobs created, improved security, increased productivity, improved healthcare, as well as the decommissioning of over 40 diesel and petrol gensets. Based on the current and future estimations, the reductions in carbon emissions were also encouraging.’’
According to the report, 1,392 irrigation solar pumps were supplied across the six geopolitical zones, reaching 1,300 male and 92 female beneficiaries, as well as around 200 agricultural clusters.
Over 11,000 lives and 6,000 farmers (including about 810 female farmers) have been directly impacted. This impact has translated to the illumination of over 170 farms with Solar Street Lights (SSLs), the training of over 3,000 farmers on pump maintenance and new irrigation practices, and more importantly, costs (maintenance, fuel, etc.) savings. For the latter, the replacement of diesel-powered pumps with solar-powered pumps is expected to increase average revenues by N150,000 – N300,000,’’ the Agency reported.
According to the Agency, 2,046 Solar Home Systems (SHS) were deployed across the six geopolitical zones, reaching and linking 1,972 residences, 5 primary healthcare centers, 10 schools, 22 religious centers, and 7 offices. It further stated that uninterrupted electricity has directly benefited over 10,000 lives and 5,000 pupils, resulting in the creation of over 350 direct and indirect jobs, improved healthcare, and increased trading and domestic activities among women.
According to the research, notable gender-based observations include women in beneficiary areas having greater access to technology, health, and food quality/quantity.
“Over 3,000 women that are involved in trading, tailoring, braiding and other productive domestic activities are expected to increase their profit margin by at least 30% due to the improved lighting conditions from the SHS. The provision of solar pumps to farm clusters will also enable female farmers to increase their yields and profits,’’ the organization relayed.
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