The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, said distributed renewable energy is the fastest route to solving the country’s electricity supply challenges and to sustained economic growth.

Aliyu, who disclosed this while delivering a keynote address titled “Scaling Mini-Grids and Solar Infrastructure for Industrial Production” at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Renewable Energy Outlook Conference in Lagos, Wednesday, emphasised that Nigeria’s industrial competitiveness will hinge entirely on its ability to build reliable, affordable, and scalable electricity systems.

“Scaling mini-grids and solar infrastructure for industrial production is not about choosing between the grid and off-grid systems.

“It is about designing a smarter power system that uses every viable tool available. Nigeria needs the national grid. Nigeria needs gas. Nigeria needs hydropower. Nigeria needs solar. Nigeria needs storage. Nigeria needs embedded generation. Nigeria needs mini-grids. Nigeria needs private capital. Nigeria needs local manufacturing. Nigeria needs data. And Nigeria needs coordination,” he said.

Speaking further, Aliyu added, “A mini-grid that powers homes changes lives. But a mini-grid that powers homes, a rice mill, a cold room, a welding cluster, a clinic, a digital services hub, and a market changes an economy,” Aliyu explained.

The Minister of Power, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, declared that the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity sector is a generational task that cannot be fully concluded within a single administration.

“The problems plaguing the power sector are largely governance and commercial challenges; the technical aspect accounts for only 20 per cent of the issue.”

“The foundation of our transformation is legislative. The Electricity Act has fundamentally altered the governance of Nigeria’s electricity sector. States now possess the constitutional ability to transmit, generate, and regulate power. This administration has democratized energy governance,” he said.