Minister: Provision of Electricity to Rural Areas by Conventional Means Expensive

Emmanuel Addeh

The Minster of Power, Mr. Abubakar Aliyu, has explained that provision of electricity to rural areas through conventional means is costly, reason the federal government has been exploring other means.

Abubakar, who was speaking at the launch/workshop of the Regional Off-grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP) in Abuja, said that renewable energy is locally available and can be used for heating purposes and supply of electricity.

According to him, this will help to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels,  enhance national energy security, reduce  oil import bills and thereby reducing poverty.

He said the ROGEAP project had been designed to provide  solutions to improve the living conditions of the populace.

While declaring the workshop open, he further stated that the ministry had collaborated with the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) which is an agency of the commission since 2017 on implementation of the ROGEP project.

“ROGEP as conceived entails the development of Solar Home Systems (SHS) to rural areas by providing developers with soft loans funded by the World Bank.

“ The loans are to be issued by World Bank through intermediary banks and the interest to be borne by the project developers. Government is required to guarantee for payment of energy provided in essential sectors such as public health centres and public schools only, ”he explained.

The Minister who was represented by the Director, Renewable and Rural Power  Access, Ali Abubakar, said that though the project was halted due to the expiration of the effectiveness period, the ECOWAS commission was launching it under a new name ROGEAP.

According to him, this is to increase access to electricity for households, commercial enterprises, public institutions and for productive uses through stand-alone solar photovoltaic systems, in West Africa and four countries of the Sahel regions.

Speaking earlier, the representative of ECOWAS and Conseiller Principal, el Hadji Sylla, highlighted the importance of energy in achieving sustainable development and poverty reduction in regions using modern stand-alone solar technology through the regional approach.