FG, REA advance reliable power supply ground-breaking 17.7MW Ibadan interconnected mini-grid

The Federal Ministry of Power, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a 17.7 MW interconnected mini-grid in Ibadan, Oyo State, marking another step in efforts to deploy new generation capacity, strengthen electricity reliability and stimulate economic activity across Nigerian communities.

Developed by Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, the project will provide additional generation capacity to serve the communities of Bola, Jiboye, Ogo-Oluwa, Molade-Adelubi and Sooko Elega within the Iwo Road axis of Ibadan.

The intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy of complementing improvements to the national grid with decentralised generation solutions that bring new power closer to areas of demand. Upon completion, the project is expected to significantly improve the reliability and duration of electricity supply in the beneficiary communities, with a target of at least 20 hours of supply daily.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, said the project demonstrated the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing available electricity, strengthening reliability and ensuring that improvements in the power sector translated directly into economic opportunities for Nigerians.

According to the minister, the government’s focus extends beyond expanding electricity infrastructure to ensuring that additional generation capacity supports businesses, productive enterprises, industries and households.

“Our objective is clear: to increase the quantum of electricity available to Nigerians, improve the reliability of supply and ensure that electricity becomes an enabler of productivity, investment and economic growth. Projects such as this demonstrate how we are translating that commitment into infrastructure that directly serves communities and productive economic clusters.”

The Ibadan project builds on a growing portfolio of interconnected and isolated mini-grid interventions being implemented by the REA across the country. The agency has previously held groundbreaking ceremonies and advanced the deployment of interconnected mini-grid projects in several locations, including Pankshin in Plateau State; Kofare, Mbamba and Saminaka in Adamawa State; and other strategic locations across the country.

These interventions represent an important evolution in Nigeria’s distributed energy market, from smaller access-focused systems towards increasingly larger decentralised generation assets capable of supporting communities, commercial clusters and productive users while complementing existing distribution infrastructure.

The minister noted that this approach was being pursued alongside ongoing Federal Government interventions to strengthen generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure across the country. Planned and ongoing improvements along key electricity corridors are expected to progressively reinforce the reliability and resilience of Nigeria’s electricity supply architecture.

In his remarks, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Dr Abba Aliyu, said the 17.7 MW Ibadan project reflected the scale and ambition of the new generation of distributed renewable energy projects being developed under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He explained that the REA’s priority was increasingly centred on deploying generation capacity where it could deliver the greatest economic impact while leveraging private-sector investment and sustainable operating models.

“This groundbreaking is about more than 17.7 megawatts of new generation capacity. It is about what that capacity will enable. Reliable electricity means longer operating hours for businesses, lower dependence on expensive self-generation, increased productivity, new investment and ultimately more jobs and economic opportunities.”

Aliyu added that the Ibadan project formed part of a much larger pipeline of investments being facilitated by the agency.

“Across Nigeria, we are demonstrating that distributed energy can move beyond addressing electricity access alone to becoming an important pillar of electricity reliability and economic development. From the interconnected mini-grids we have already broken ground on in different parts of the country to the new generation capacity now coming into Ibadan, our objective remains consistent: reliable electricity that powers productive economies.”

Upon completion, the Ibadan project will include the deployment of 18 new transformers to strengthen electricity distribution within the beneficiary communities.

The REA is also advancing an additional 17.7 MW of projects in Ibadan, targeting strategic institutions and economic centres, including the University College Hospital, the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan. Together, these interventions demonstrate a deliberate strategy to build clusters of reliable generation capacity around communities, public institutions and centres of economic activity.

The Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, commended the Federal Government for the intervention, noting that improved electricity supply would positively affect businesses, households and livelihoods across the beneficiary communities.

He expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the infrastructure projects being implemented across Oyo State and called for their timely completion.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Paras Energy & Natural Resources Development Limited, Yashwant Kumar, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to delivering the project efficiently and to the required standards, noting that reliable electricity would have a transformative impact on residents and businesses within the project area.

The Ibadan groundbreaking reinforces the Federal Government’s and the REA’s commitment to a power-sector strategy in which new generation capacity, stronger networks, decentralised energy infrastructure and private-sector investment work together to improve the reliability of electricity supply.

For the REA, the ultimate measure of success is not simply the number of megawatts installed, but the economic activity those megawatts unlock: businesses powered, productive hours expanded, jobs supported, investments attracted and communities transformed through reliable electricity.