The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Rural Electrification Agency, has commissioned a 581kWp interconnected solar mini-grid in Oke-Oyi community, Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The project is part of ongoing efforts to improve electricity access in underserved communities and promote economic activities through reliable power supply.

Developed by Nayo Tropical Technologies Limited under the Rural Electrification Fund-Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme, the project received support from the German Cooperation and the European Union through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, inaugurated the project on Thursday and commended President Bola Tinubu for his administration’s commitment to expanding electricity access and ensuring investments in the power sector deliver tangible improvements to Nigerians.

According to Tegbe, the Oke-Oyi project reflects the administration’s wider strategy of using electricity to support economic activities, employment and improved livelihoods.

“The purpose of electrification is ultimately to improve lives and create opportunities. What we are inaugurating today in Oke-Oyi is an investment in the productive capacity of the community,” the minister said.

He said reliable electricity could help welders, grain millers and other businesses increase their operations while creating room for new enterprises.

Tegbe also emphasised the need for completed electricity projects to be properly maintained so that communities can continue to benefit from the investments over the long term.

The mini-grid has an installed capacity of 581kWp and consists of 1,336 solar panels and 84 batteries. The electricity network is supported by approximately 10 kilometres of distribution cables and transformers.

The project serves an estimated 13,000 residents, with electricity connections provided to residential and productive users.

Its deployment has also been associated with increased economic activity in Oke-Oyi. The community now has 12 welding businesses, two pure water companies, four grain mills, four aluminium artisan businesses, an ice-block production business and a cold-room/ice-fish depot.

Three electricity vendors are currently operating in the community, while three more vendors, including a female entrepreneur, are expected to be registered.

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, represented at the commissioning by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, welcomed the project.

The governor described reliable electricity access as important to enterprise, employment and community development.

“For Kwara State, every intervention that expands reliable electricity access to our communities is an important step towards creating a more conducive environment for enterprise, employment and improved livelihoods,” Abdulrazaq said.

Abdulrazaq appreciated the Federal Government, REA and the development and private-sector partners involved in the project. He also expressed the state’s expectation that the intervention would continue contributing to Oke-Oyi’s development.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of REA, Abubakar Aliyu, said the project demonstrated the agency’s focus on ensuring that electrification investments produce measurable economic benefits for beneficiary communities.

“The real measure of an electrification project is not only the infrastructure we commission, but the opportunities that reliable electricity creates for the people who use it,” Aliyu said.

He said the emergence of new businesses and the expansion of productive activities in Oke-Oyi demonstrated the economic value reliable electricity could create for rural communities.

Aliyu added that preserving the investment would remain a priority beyond the commissioning, highlighting the responsibilities of communities, developers and other stakeholders in protecting the infrastructure.

The Head of Development Cooperation at the German Embassy, Karin Jansen, said the project highlighted the importance of partnerships in providing sustainable energy solutions to underserved communities.

“Today is more than connecting a community to electricity; it is about demonstrating what is possible when government, development partners, utilities, private-sector developers and communities work together towards a common objective,” Jansen said.

She commended the Ministry of Power, REA, the Kwara State Government, IBEDC, Nayo Tropical Technologies, the European Union, GIZ and the Oke-Oyi community for their contributions to the project.

The community leader of Oke-Oyi, Oseni Elemoso, also expressed appreciation to the Federal Government, REA and development partners for the intervention and assured stakeholders that the community would remain committed to protecting the infrastructure.

“Today is a day of joy for the people of Oke-Oyi. We have longed for reliable electricity to improve our lives and economic activities, and we are already seeing new businesses emerge in our community,” the community leader said.

Construction of the project also provided temporary employment for residents who worked as painters, welders, bricklayers, iron benders, tilers, plumbers, borehole diggers and excavation labourers.

The project is part of the Federal Government’s broader efforts, through REA, to increase electricity access in unserved and underserved communities while promoting renewable energy solutions for economic and social development.

Source: Punch