By Abdulrahman Abdullahi
The Federal Government of Nigeria through its Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is again providing Output-Based Fund (OBF) to seven solar home system suppliers. This funding is part of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is continuing its results-based subsidy programme in Nigeria. The government agency has signed grant agreements with seven solar home system suppliers operating in rural Nigeria. Although the names of the companies benefiting from this funding facility have not been disclosed, REA estimates that the grants will enable the electrification of one million households and 90,000 micro, small and medium enterprises in rural Nigeria.
The grant is part of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), a federal government initiative, led by the private sector, which aims to provide electricity access to households, micro, small and medium enterprises in off-grid communities across the country through renewable energy sources. NEP is being implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency in collaboration with the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other development partners.
“With the signing of these grant agreements, it is expected that the market for solar home systems in Nigeria will increase significantly to enable REA to electrify one million homes by the end of the project,” REA says. Under NEP, the agency has already subsidised the US company Lumos Global to the tune of US$75 million. It has pledged to distribute solar home systems to 1 million homes by 2025.
The OBF also benefits A4&T Integrated Services, Asolar Systems Nigeria, Greenlight Planet, Smarter Grid International and Solar Energy by D. light. REA grants have also been awarded to suppliers of solar mini-grids such as Renewvia Energy and PowerGen Renewable Energy. Both companies received performance-based grants (PBG).