The Federal Government of Nigeria Signs Grant Agreements with Renewable Energy Investors

    ABUJA, NIGERIA, October 22, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Federal Government of Nigeria, through its Implementing Agency, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) signed grant agreements with seven renewable energy investors under the World Bank funded Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP). The grant agreement signing which took place on October 18, 2019 at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, was attended by power sector stakeholders and representatives from international donor agencies.

The grant agreements are for the Output Based Fund (OBF) for the sale of solar home systems to homes and businesses across Nigeria and the Performance Based Grant (PBG) for the deployment of mini grids to unserved and underserved communities in Nigeria. Following a thorough procurement process, the first six companies to be signed to the OBF are: A4&T Integrated Services Limited, ASOLAR Systems Nigeria Limited, Txtlight Power Solutions Limited (Lumos Nigeria), Greenlight Planet, Smarter Grid International and Solar Energy by D. light Limited. With these grants, the companies will play a major role in enabling the NEP Solar Home Systems (SHS) component to achieve its goal of electrifying 1 million Nigerian households in 5 years using renewable energy solutions.

PowerGen Renewable Energy is the first company to sign for the Performance Based Grant under the NEP Mini Grids component. Under this partnership with REA, PowerGen will deploy mini grids to Rokota community, Niger State. Mini Grids Component Head, Lolade Abiola, leads the project to provide clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity to 300,000 homes and 30,000 local businesses with mini grids. After the signing, she reiterated that "the grant agreement signing today is an attestation to both local and foreign investors of the readiness of the Nigerian Government to leverage renewable energy technologies for increased access to electricity. I can confidently state that renewable energy is the next big thing for the sector."

In her remarks, the REA Managing Director, Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi, expressed optimism over the determination of the Federal Government to transform the power sector in accordance with its Next Level agenda. She acknowledged the support of the World Bank and the African Development Bank to improve electricity access through the provision of grant funding and technical assistance. "REA, in collaboration with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has secured funds from the World Bank ($350m) and African Development Bank ($200m). These funds will go a long way in helping us connect communities, schools and homes to constant electricity."

Representatives of the grant recipient companies have expressed appreciation to the REA and the World Bank with assurances of their dedication to make a positive mark in the Nigerian electricity space using the allocated funds.

ABOUT REA
The Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities. The Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) is an innovative programme to catalyze off grid development in Nigeria, through the provision of grant funding, detailed market data and technical assistance, in collaboration with the World Bank and African Development Bank. The NEP components are Solar Hybrid Mini Grids, Solar Home Systems (SHS) and the Energizing Education Programme (EEP).

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