New mini-grids to serve 2,222 households, boost agricultural processing and power healthcare facilities under FG’s DARES programme…
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has restored electricity to two communities in Kano State after 16 years without power, unveiling mini-grid projects expected to provide electricity to 2,222 households.
The projects, located in Ballagaza and Marayar Rogo in Warawa Local Government Area, comprise a 195-kilowatt-peak mini-grid and a 70-kilowatt-peak system, respectively.
REA Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, disclosed this during the commissioning of the facilities, according to a statement issued on Thursday.
He said the projects formed part of the Federal Government’s efforts to deliver on the Renewed Hope Agenda target of providing electricity to more than 17 million Nigerians.
Aliyu described the initiative as an example of how public-private partnerships could accelerate rural electrification, explaining that private investors financed, built and would operate the facilities, while the government provided partial subsidies to make electricity more affordable.
“The Federal Government did not build these mini-grids and hand them over. Alfuttaim Nigeria Limited invested its own money, built them, and will own and operate them for many years,” he said.
He explained that the government, through the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme implemented by the REA with support from the World Bank, subsidised part of the project costs to reduce the financial burden on consumers.
According to Aliyu, the programme is targeting the deployment of 1,350 mini-grids and has already delivered new or improved electricity access to more than five million Nigerians.
He noted that expanding electricity access remained a major national challenge that required sustained collaboration between government, private investors and beneficiary communities.
“Nigeria’s electricity access challenge will not be solved by a single agency or programme; it will be solved community by community, in places like Ballagaza and Marayar Rogo, when private companies are willing to invest, and communities take ownership of what is built for them,” he added.
The REA managing director also commended Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf for prioritising electricity access and creating an enabling environment for the projects.
Beyond providing household electricity, the mini-grids are expected to stimulate economic activities, particularly agricultural processing and small-scale businesses that have long been constrained by unreliable or unavailable power.
Communities in the area produce groundnuts, millet, sorghum and soya, while local artisans engage in blacksmithing, weaving and dyeing.
With the new electricity supply, groundnut processors are expected to use electric machines to produce groundnut oil and kuli-kuli, potentially increasing output, improving productivity and enabling them to secure better prices for their products.
The projects are also expected to improve healthcare delivery, with the mini-grid providing electricity to a primary healthcare centre that previously operated without power.
Speaking at the commissioning, Alfuttaim co-founder Nabilah Sani expressed satisfaction with the completion of the projects, saying the facilities would improve household access to electricity and support agricultural production.
She thanked the Federal Government for facilitating the funding arrangements that made the projects possible, adding that the two locations were among 10 sites the company was developing across Kano State.
Sani urged residents to protect the infrastructure and avoid vandalism to ensure the facilities continued to provide reliable electricity to the communities.
The projects mark another step in efforts to extend electricity access to underserved areas through renewable energy solutions and private-sector investment, particularly in communities where conventional grid expansion has yet to deliver reliable power.
