By Ahmed Balarabe Sa’id
Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu has described the passage of the Electricity Bill by President Bola Tinubu as a catalyst for the targeted 2030 universal access to electricity.
The Minister said this at the commissioning of the 35.224kwp interconnected Hybrid Solar mini grid project in Toto community, Nasarawa state, Thursday.
Chief Adelabu who described the President as visionary, acknowledged the commissioning, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria, as a fallout of the passage of the 2023 Electricity Bill into law. According to him, the law has enabled state and local governments, alongside private entities, to actively participate in the power sector. “The legislative milestone has paved the way for projects like the Toto MiniGrid project to electrify rural communities, demonstrating the administration’s commitment to socio-economic empowerment through energy access”, the Minister added.
While acknowledging that the intervention will impact on cost of doing businesses and reduction of poverty, he charged the community to partake in the sustenance of the project, assuring of government’s continued commitment to bridge the gap in electricity access through complimentary approaches.
Earlier, in his address, Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Engineer Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad
stated that, the successful completion of the Toto Mini-Grid project is a testament to the power of partnership and innovation in driving rural electrification in Nigeria. He noted that, the REA remains committed to fostering an environment which encourages similar sustainable and impactful projects nationwide.
Seun Edun, Country Director, PowerGen, the developers of the mini grid, described the event as iconic, and a result of the vision of the Federal Government, invaluable support of the World Bank and the committed execution by the Rural Electrification Agency to scale up reliable, sustainable renewable energy in the country. He informed that, the Toto community project would directly impact 183,800 people, 141 commercial entities, 1,798 residential, as part of a total 2000 connections powered by a battery capacity of 972kwh. He assured that, the company is desirous of expanding investment in the area in the incoming years.
Some beneficiaries of the project who spoke to Valuechain, expressed delight, while affirming the immediate impact of the project in their businesses. Alh. Musa Kani, a Yoghurt factory owner in the community, said that, his business premises required about N700,000 monthly before the grid arrived the community, and that cost has been reduced to about N300,000. Another businessman and owner a Water production factory, Abubakar Nasir Suleiman, told Valuechain that 70% of his running cost has reduced after the installation of the mini grids, leading to expansion of his business and eradication of environmental pollution, among other many benefits.