REA lights up Kano community after 16 years of darkness
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has commissioned two mini-grid projects in Kano State to restore electricity to communities that have endured more than 16 years of darkness.
The projects, comprising a 195-kilowatt-peak (kWp) system in Ballagaza and a 70kWp system in Marayar Rogo, both in Warawa Local Government Area, are expected to provide electricity to 2,222 households.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, the Managing Director of REA, Mr Abba Aliyu, said the projects represented a significant step towards achieving the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda target of providing electricity access to more than 17 million Nigerians.
Aliyu described the projects as an example of the impact of public-private partnerships in expanding electricity access.
He commended Gov. Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State for prioritising electricity access and creating an enabling environment for the projects.
“The Federal Government did not build these mini-grids and hand them over. Alfuttaim Nigeria Ltd. invested its own money, built them, and will own and operate them for many years.
“What the government did, through the DARES programme implemented by REA with support from the World Bank, was to subsidise part of the cost to ensure that electricity remains affordable,” he said.
Aliyu said Nigeria was working towards deploying 1,350 mini-grids under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, which he said had already provided new or improved electricity access to more than five million Nigerians.
He said expanding electricity access required sustained collaboration among government agencies, private investors and beneficiary communities.
“The challenge will be solved community by community, in places like Ballagaza and Marayar Rogo, when private companies are willing to invest and communities take ownership of what is built for them,” he said.
The projects are expected to support economic activities in the beneficiary communities, where residents engage in the production of groundnuts, millet, sorghum and soya beans, as well as blacksmithing, weaving and dyeing.
Access to electricity is also expected to enable groundnut processors to use electric machines to produce oil and kuli-kuli, potentially improving productivity and income.
The mini-grid projects will also provide electricity to a primary healthcare centre in the community, which previously operated without power.
In her remarks, Dr Nabilah Sani, Co-founder of Alfuttaim, expressed satisfaction with the completion of the projects, saying they would improve household electricity access and boost agricultural productivity.
Sani thanked the Federal Government for facilitating the funding support that enabled the projects and disclosed that the company had 10 sites under development in Kano State.
She urged residents to protect the infrastructure against vandalism and treat the facilities as community assets.
