REA ENGAGED SHS GRANTEES AND MINI GRID DEVELOPERS ON 4TH OBF AND 7TH PBG E-ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

On 14th & 15th of October 2021, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) held e-roundtable discussions with SHS Grantees and Mini Grid Developers via zoom for the Output Based Fund (OBF) and the Performance Based Grant (PBG) sub-components of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).

The purpose of the e-roundtable discussions was to communicate new developments and recent updates with the Solar Home System Distributors and  the Mini-grid Developers. The session addressed modifications, findings and feedback related to the verification process, environmental and social implications of the projects as well as the grant rate increase under both sub-components.

Mrs. Anita Otubu (Head Project Management Unit of the NEP) gave the opening remarks which was followed by a welcome address by Engr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad (MD/CEO, REA).

The MD reiterated the importance of the roundtable discussions which was to promote transparency and efficiency across the two (2) sub-components as well as provide updates on recent findings and the implementation status of the OBF and PBG respectively.

The objective of the NEP, is to provide access to clean, safe, reliable and affordable electricity services to unserved and underserved peri-urban and rural communities in partnership with private sector companies. This brought about the introduction of the OBF & PBG grant mechanism which has thus far proven highly efficient in bridging the electrification gap within the country.

The closing remarks were delivered by Jon Exel (Task Team Lead (TTL), World Bank). He highlighted that the increase in the grant rate will effectively accelerate growth within the private companies as there is to be significant demand for SHS units and the deployment of mini-grids. This change will allow distributors and developers cover a wider range of connections within unserved and underserved peri-urban and rural communities across Nigeria.