- Rural Electrification Agency secures grant to offer energy-efficient appliances to MSME
Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) takes steps to provide rural communities with energy-efficient and productive equipment through its Productive Use Equipment and Appliance (PUE) initiative. The aim is to encourage unserved and under-served rural areas to become productive and experience accelerated growth by utilizing cost-effective productive equipment.
The flagship program, known as the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), plans to supply 24,500 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with energy-efficient appliances for productive use. The REA expects this initiative to expand electricity access to over one million people.
Managing Director of the REA, Mr. Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, emphasized the importance of the PUE in driving sustainability for off-grid energy infrastructure across the country. He stated that the REA’s mandate is to provide electricity access to rural households and MSMEs, and the agency is committed to supporting private-sector involvement in achieving this goal.
The MD further highlighted the significance of optimizing productive use equipment and appliances to catalyze socio-economic development in off-grid communities. The REA aims to empower beneficiaries of off-grid technologies and demonstrate the possibilities that sustainable energy can offer.
The project receives funding from the World Bank and the African Development Bank as part of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP). The REA collaborates with Energy Access Companies (EACs) to support the use of low-cost productive appliances in unserved and under-served communities, thereby enhancing rural productivity, economic growth, and employment opportunities.
While acknowledging the progress made through the NEP, the REA MD emphasized the need to continue pushing forward to achieve transformative change and urged all stakeholders to align with the program’s impactful objectives.
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