New Electrification Plan To Boost Investment, Power Access, Says REA

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, has said the soon-to-be-approved Nigerian Electrification Strategy Implementation Plan (NESIP) will serve as a national blueprint for scaling electricity access and strengthening investor confidence in the sector.

Aliyu disclosed this recently while speaking at the 109th edition of the Nextier Power Dialogue, organised by the Electricity Hub in Abuja.

He revealed that the long-awaited NESIP has been finalised and is awaiting approval from the National Economic Council (NEC).

The strategy, he explained, builds on the Rural Electrification Strategy and Implementation Plan (RESIP), adopted in 2006, and successor initiatives such as the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), with the overarching goal of achieving universal electricity access by 2030.

Stakeholders at the dialogue, themed “Leveraging Private Capital for Scalable Renewable Energy Access in Nigeria,” described the strategy as a unifying framework for Nigeria’s disparate electrification efforts and a driver for renewable energy deployment under the 2023 Electricity Act.

Aliyu stressed that attracting private sector funding requires more than financial incentives. “It is not just about the money being available; funders want to see capable hands and clean structures,” he said, adding that weak corporate governance and limited technical expertise remain barriers in the sector.

To address this gap, REA has embedded renewable energy specialists into Nigerian banks to guide financing decisions, a move that has seen more institutions—beyond early entrants such as Sterling Bank and FCMB—grow comfortable with backing renewable energy ventures.

Aliyu further noted that the agency uses capital grants to de-risk projects for developers, enabling them to raise additional financing. However, he cautioned investors against treating off-grid projects with an “on-grid mindset,” stressing that a measure of risk is inevitable in off-grid development.

The dialogue brought together government officials, financiers, and international development partners to explore how Nigeria can unlock the scale of private capital required to expand electricity access sustainably.

……………..

New Electrification Plan To Boost Investment, Power Access, Says REA is first published on The Whistler Newspaper