FG lights up two Edo communities with hybrid mini-grid 

The Federal Government commissioned two hybrid mini-grids with a total of 200kw capacity for Oloyan and Sule camp communities in Ovia South Local Government and Ovia North East of Edo State respectively on Monday.

The project was undertaken by the Rural Electrification Agency.

Olayan community gets 100kw of electricity after 21 years while the Sule camp community also gets 100kw after 30 years.

Speaking during the commissioning, the REA Managing Director, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the mini-grid was one of many, being developed across the nation through the Federal Government’s Rural Electrification Fund.

He said the Rural Electrification Fund remained a key mechanism of the Federal Government, designed to enable developmental impact in rural communities through the provision of sustainable energy access.

Represented by the agency’s executive director,  Doris Uboh noted that the rural communities were being held back across the nation due to the energy poverty in rural communities, which deserved a new lease of life.

He said, “In citing the mini off-grid, REA took into consideration the economic viability of the community, including the critical agricultural activities seen across the community.

“It is evident that our interventions in unserved and underserved communities are serving as catalysts to true sustainable development, in line with the objectives of the Federal government. The off-grid, renewable energy ecosystem in Nigeria will continue to be a driving force for the Nigerian economy,” he said.

“The commissioning of the two mini-grid in Oloya and Sule camp communities brought to three the total mini-grid in the state, as one was commissioned in Adebayo community two years ago.”

He said that a committee, made up of community members, has been constituted to take responsibility and also provide security for the project.

He noted, “The agency focused on rural communities because the urban areas had received much attention while rural areas had been abandoned or neglected for too long.

“The project is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda meant to focus on communities that had been neglected for long. The benefitting communities had been in existence for 21 and 30 years without electricity.

On his part, the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, commended the agency for its commitment to bringing sustainable energy solutions to communities in the state.