By Onu Okorie

Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency REA has commissioned a 505-kilowatt solar mini-grid project that will bring reliable electricity to five previously underserved communities in the Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The interconnected facility now serves the communities of Odogbawojo, Odoshiwola, Odoayan, Ora, and Ibowon, providing power to households, small businesses, public institutions, and productive users across the area.

The project was co-financed by the European Union and the German Government through GIZ’s Nigerian Energy Support Programme NESP, and built by local developer A4&T Power Solutions Limited in partnership with the Eko Electricity Distribution Company EKEDC.

Minister of Power Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe used the commissioning ceremony to highlight the scale of Nigeria’s broader rural electrification push, noting that more than 1,000 mini-grids are currently under active development nationwide. He also pointed to the World Bank-supported DARES initiative, which has so far extended solar home systems to nearly 3.9 million Nigerians.

“The energy transition is not an abstract policy document. It is happening, community by community, kilowatt by kilowatt, life by life,” the Minister said.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu welcomed the project as a model of federal-private sector collaboration, while REA Managing Director Abba Abubakar Aliyu said the initiative demonstrated the effectiveness of the REF Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme IMAS in drawing private investment into rural energy delivery.

The Epe project joins a growing national portfolio that includes the Nigeria Electrification Project, the Energizing Education Programme, and the Energizing Economies Initiative, all under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.