Nigeria has successfully connected six million people to reliable electricity using solar mini-grids, according to the World Bank. This development marks a major step in addressing the country’s persistent energy access deficit, especially in remote and underserved communities.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has long struggled with electricity shortages. An estimated 85 million Nigerians, about 40% of the population remain without access to the national grid. Those connected often face unreliable service, frequent blackouts, and an overreliance on costly, polluting diesel generators.
The expansion of solar mini-grids presents a promising alternative. These decentralized systems, often installed in rural areas far from the central grid, can deliver clean, stable, and cost-effective power tailored to the needs of local communities. Backed by strong donor support, Nigeria’s government, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has leveraged public-private partnerships to scale this model with remarkable results.
The six million connections stem from two key government programs: the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) and the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) initiative, both supported by the World Bank and other development partners.
- Under the NEP, launched in 2018, over 150 solar hybrid mini-grids have been constructed across Nigeria. These projects directly powered up rural communities, schools, small businesses, and health centers.
- The DARES program, approved in late 2023, builds on NEP’s momentum with an ambitious target to electrify 17.5 million people through a mix of isolated mini-grids, interconnected mini-grids, and solar home systems.
Combined, these efforts have resulted in the direct connection of over six million Nigerians to steady electricity, many for the first time.
Mini-grids are increasingly recognized as the most viable solution for electrifying off-grid communities. Nigeria’s terrain, population density, and chronic grid underperformance make centralized electrification challenging. Mini-grids overcome these barriers through:
- Localized Installation: They do not depend on extensive transmission lines, reducing cost and time to deploy.
- Clean Energy Source: Most mini-grids in Nigeria are solar-powered, cutting reliance on fossil fuels.
- Private Sector Engagement: Developers are incentivized with performance-based grants to build systems in rural areas.
Beyond just power delivery, mini-grids have a ripple effect on rural development.
In communities once resigned to darkness, the arrival of electricity has transformed everyday life.
- Healthcare facilities can now operate at night, refrigerate vaccines, and perform emergency procedures with modern equipment. Maternal and child health outcomes have seen measurable improvement.
- Local businesses such as barbershops, welders, and grain millers no longer depend on noisy and expensive petrol generators. With reliable power, their productivity and income have increased.
- Households and students enjoy better quality of life, children can study after sunset, homes are lit, and phone charging is no longer a luxury.
These stories are not isolated. Across dozens of states, from Gombe to Ogun, similar testimonies echo the transformative power of rural electrification.
Nigeria’s chronic electricity gap costs its economy billions of dollars in lost productivity annually. By targeting underserved areas, mini-grids stimulate local economies, promote entrepreneurship, and reduce the national dependence on diesel generators, which are both costly and environmentally harmful.
Each solar mini-grid helps:
- Cut CO₂ emissions by replacing fossil fuel usage.
- Boost employment, both during construction and operation phases.
- Stimulate microenterprise growth, leading to localized economic resilience.
This clean energy push is aligned with Nigeria’s broader commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060 and contributing to global climate goals.
The World Bank has played a pivotal role in funding, technical assistance, and capacity building. Through its International Development Association (IDA), the bank provided a $350 million loan for NEP and an additional $750 million for the DARES initiative.
Alongside funding, the World Bank helped Nigeria develop what is now considered one of Africa’s most advanced regulatory frameworks for mini-grids. This includes licensing procedures, tariff structures, and technical standards that enable developers to scale quickly and securely.
Other partners include the African Development Bank, private investors, and donor governments who see decentralized energy access as a key to unlocking human and economic development.
Despite the progress, several obstacles remain:
- Affordability: While solar mini-grids are cheaper than diesel in the long run, initial tariffs can be unaffordable for extremely low-income households without subsidies.
- Developer Hesitancy: Private companies often prioritize semi-urban areas with higher profit margins, leaving the poorest regions underserved.
- Sustainability and Maintenance: Keeping systems running long-term requires strong local capacity, funding for repairs, and robust community engagement.
Government and partners are exploring targeted subsidies, pay-as-you-go models, and community ownership structures to overcome these hurdles.
Nigeria aims to connect an additional 17 million people through the DARES program by 2027. This would push the country closer to universal electricity access, currently set as a goal for 2030 under global development targets.
To achieve this, Nigeria is:
- Deploying over 1,200 new mini-grids in rural and semi-urban zones.
- Scaling solar home systems to individual households in very remote areas.
- Strengthening policy and regulatory environments to attract more private investment.
The country is also aligning its rural electrification strategy with Africa-wide initiatives such as Mission 300, which seeks to connect 300 million people across the continent to power by 2030.
Nigeria’s experience has become a reference point for other African nations grappling with energy poverty. The blend of strategic public policy, multilateral financing, and private sector involvement is being closely studied across East, West, and Central Africa.
If current momentum is maintained, Nigeria could soon transition from being one of the most energy-deprived nations to one of the most innovative in decentralized power systems.
