Sustainable Energy for MSMEs: REA, Katsina State Government Hold Roundtable ..... Move to Explore Strategies for Energy Access Scale-up for the Unserved and the Underserved.
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Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, CON |
"The MoU between the REA and the Katsina State Government, kick-starts a long-term strategic relationship for scaling the deployment of decentralized solar power generation and distribution projects in the State, through the REA’s Renewable Service Companies (RESCOs).
"The MoU also enables the REA to deepen support to the State Government, ensuring successful planning, implementation and post-implementation of the electrification projects targeted at unserved and the under-served communities."
The Executive Governor of Katsina State, His Excellency, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda, PhD, CON has given a vote of confidence to the management of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA in its delivery of sustainable energy infrastructure.
Dikko Umaru Radda, in passing his vote of confidence on REA, reaffirmed his strong commitment to providing the needed support for the growth and efficiency of the REA’s RESCO model.
As part of reaffirming his commitment, Dr. Radda on Thursday 24th of October 2024, in collaboration with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) convened a knowledge-driven and solution-focused Roundtable with active stakeholders in the nation’s energy sector, including Renewable Service Companies (RESCOs) with a long history of project implementation with the REA.
The roundtable/workshop reaffirmed the agency’s sustained collaboration with State Governments through the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). The Roundtable was convened in collaboration with the Katsina State Government and Katsina State Enterprise Development Agency (KASEDA).
The MoU between the REA and the Katsina State Government, kick-starts a long-term strategic relationship for scaling the deployment of decentralized solar power generation and distribution projects in the State, through the REA’s Renewable Service Companies (RESCOs). The MoU also enables the REA to deepen support to the State Government, ensuring successful planning, implementation and post-implementation of the electrification projects targeted at unserved and the under-served communities; targeted energy solutions to MSMEs in the state; facilitation of private sector investment as well as capacity building for Katsina State local stakeholders.
The Roundtable, which held in Abuja served as a platform for the REA to mainstream its programmes and data-driven initiatives to critical stakeholders, while charting a new course for improved investment, manpower development, sustainability and technology optimization in the clean energy sector. The nation’s new legislation, the 2023 Electricity Act as well as the National Electrification and Strategy Implementation Plan (NESIP) has further opened up opportunities for collaborative engagements targeted at the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope agenda for social and economic growth for all Nigerians.
Historically, Katsina State, like other states across the nation, continues to face significant energy challenges across its rural communities, which hampers socio-economic development and quality of life. Leveraging its broad-based approach to project delivery and project sustainability, the REA optimized the Roundtable to serve as an effective meeting point, fostering partnerships between RESCOs and the Katsina State Government, targeted at further unlocking energy access infrastructure and investment in rural and unserved communities in the State.
As the Katsina State Government takes on a forward-leaning approach to the design of its State Electricity Market as recommended in the 2023 Electricity Act, REA’s Executive and Technical management team deepened key conversation touch points and pain points in the clean energy space, mainstreaming clear information on roles, models, opportunities, as well as support available to RESCOs to facilitate the successful development and deployment of renewable energy infrastructure in the state.
"To expedite this process, we will rely on the REA's active role in providing technical advice and support to ensure the concession is concluded efficiently." He stated.
The Governor assured the Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOs) of his administration’s commitment to ameliorating the sector’s pain points, while derisking the business landscape in Katsina for wider investments.
While setting the tone ahead of the productive conversations at the Roundtable, the Managing Director/CEO of REA, Abba Abubakar Aliyu explained that “the REA has sustained its efforts on sector coordination, while exploiting data-driven strategies for renewable energy scale-up across Nigeria”.
He added that “it has become important that the energy ecosystem in state governments are reinvigorated to fast-track the delivery of energy access interventions, nurture an enabling environment for private sector investments and strengthen the linkage between the States and RESCOs within the context of the Electricity Act”.
The REA MD emphasized the central role of clean energy in the sustainability of MSMEs, assuring His Excellency, the Governor, of the agency’s readiness to catalyze investments in the energy sector while delivering the objectives of the Distributed Energy through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme.
ABOUT THE RURAL ELECTRIFICATION AGENCY (REA)
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is the Implementing Agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) under the Federal Ministry of Power tasked with the electrification of unserved and underserved communities to catalyze economic growth and improve quality of life for Nigerians. The Agency was established under part IX, Sections 88- 89 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), 2005.
The REA is currently implementing the Rural Electrification Fund (REF), Capital Projects, Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), Solar Power Naija (SPN), Energizing Education Programme (EEP), Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI), Energizing Agriculture Programme (EAP), Energy for All – Mass Rural Electrification and Research and Innovation Hub.
The Agency is responsible for creating an enabling environment for private sector-led projects, which includes conducting feasibility assessments, energy audits, enumeration, data analysis, identification of qualified private sector developers, and project stakeholder engagements.
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