In pursuit of the Economic Sustainability Plan, the Buhari administration will today be launching the Solar Power Naija programme in Jigawa State commencing with the Jangefe Community which will get 1000 Solar Home Systems connections.
The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo would be flagging off the commencement of the installation in Jigawa, in what is part of a 100,000 scheme with A-SOLAR, a local solar power company implementing part of the ESP Solar Power Naija’s planned 5 million connections across the country.
The Ministry of Power through the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, is the implementing public agency for the 5 million off-grid solar connections program (Solar Power Naija).
That program provides N140 billion in concessionary financing from the Central Bank of Nigeria and Commercial Banks for off-grid developers to rollout mini-grids and solar home systems that will cost from N3,000 per month (and up, depending on system type) to provide electricity to locations all across the country.
Today’s event being flagged off by the VP marks the launch of 100,000 connections through a commercial partnership between A-Solar (a local developer), the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), and Sterling Bank.
The Jangefe community in Jigawa will be the first location covered by the A-Solar company and will have 1,000 Solar Home Systems installed across the community (covering about 5,000 citizens). The community will pay monthly energy payments until the systems are fully paid for at the point which there will be a transfer of ownership to each consumer in the community. Jangefe community is in Roni LGA in the Kazaure Emirate of Jigawa State.
Jangefe is a rural farming community that uses the water bodies around the area for all year farming. The economic activity in Jangefe provides the opportunity for the community to be powered and pay for consumption. A-Solar leveraged the Roni LGA and Kazaure Emirate Council to do mass sensitization for an understanding of the usage of the system and payment mechanisms.
Through a World Bank and REA program called the Nigerian Electrification Program (NEP), each connection under the Solar Power Naja program will receive a 20% rebate for the developer, thus allowing the rates charged to consumers to be reduced by the same amount.
