Adelabu: 13m Nigerians to Benefit from World Bank’s $750m Renewable Scale-up Programme

•No other president has given so much priority to alternative power sources, says Aliyu

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The federal government yesterday disclosed that over 13 million Nigerians will benefit from the takeoff of the $750 million of Nigeria’s Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, an initiative backed by the World Bank.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said this in Abuja at the 2024 Rural Electrification Agency (REA) Stakeholders Engagement Workshop themed:  “Powering Partnerships for Sustainable Energy Access and Innovation.”

Adelabu said that the government was also on course to delivering an additional 150mw to the grid while impacting 14 existing substations and establishing 21 new ones.

“The team at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has also been hard at work as we approach the kick-off of the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, which I believe many of you must have heard about. 

“Our partners at the World Bank have committed $750 million to this groundbreaking project and we are certain that over 13 million Nigerians will be impacted through the DARES,” the minister, who was represented by the Director of Renewable Energy and Rural Access at the ministry, Sunday Owolabi, explained.

Adelabu pointed out that the days of glossing over ideas and strategies in the power sector were long gone, insisting that now is the time for action as energy poverty has been a persistent challenge for decades, especially in rural communities where millions lack access to electricity.  

Just as the REA, an implementing agency of the federal government, and ASolar, a player in the private sector collaborated to make the workshop a success, Adelabustressed that the dichotomy between on-grid and off-grid solutions should no longer be seen as a division but as complementary components.

“As we speak, the nation continues to grapple with peculiar on-grid energy challenges. We are able to openly speak about these challenges because, since we assumed office, the ministry has been hard at work, day-by-day, tackling these challenges and converting them into opportunities for growth.

“The light that we will see at the end of the dark tunnel will shine bright and remain so, sustainably. Our dedication to this cause and our promises to Nigerians are being met and we are delighted that Mr. President is giving us all the support we need to tackle the nation’s energy challenge,” he noted.

In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of REA, Abba Aliyu, said the kind of priority being given to the renewable energy sector by the Bola Tinubu-led government had never been received in the past.

He added that decentralisation of the power sector had given sub-national governments and  communities the leeway to participate in providing reliable electricity in the country.

“For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the entire electricity value chain has been liberalised and the sub-national and the private sectors have been given the opportunity to play a key role in providing electrification in this country. 

“Apart from that, Mr. President approved the request of the Minister of Power by approving the $750 million DARES Fund which I’m happy to stand here to tell you that the programme has been launched yesterday,” he pointed out.

He urged the private sector to utilise the opportunity provided by the government to go to  communities and begin the deployment  infrastructure so as to benefit from capital grants and subsidies based on the predetermined framework that was approved.

He also highlighted the role of the renewable energy service companies which have the capability to access private sector funding. “Yesterday, during the launch of the DARES programme,  the International Finance Corporation (IFC) also launched a $250 million financing for all the service  companies that will participate under the DARES programme,” he added.

In her presentation, the Executive Director of the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Doris Uboh, who spoke on the e-H.E.A.R.T initiative stressed that 67 per cent of maternal deaths can be prevented with adequate healthcare infrastructure, stating that up to 80 per cent of Nigerians still do not have access to reliable power supply.

According to her, as many as 23 million Nigerians now use off-grid power solutions, listing some of the objectives of the new e-H.E.A.R.T programme as promotion of electricity access in rural communities, among others.