A brand new United Nations, UN report has counseled Nigeria for reaching vital milestones in expanding dependable energy access at a lower cost via revolutionary subsidy frameworks and strategic off-grid interventions which have related greater than 5 million individuals and created over 5,000 inexperienced jobs.
The findings, revealed in the UN’s World Social Report 2026: The New Economics of Social Inclusion, spotlight the affect of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in expanding trendy energy infrastructure to underserved and unserved communities throughout the nation.
The report additionally commends Nigeria and Ghana for main revolutionary agrivoltaics initiatives that combine photo voltaic installations instantly into working farmlands.
According to the report, this mannequin permits communities to rework their meals and energy methods concurrently by harvesting daylight twice on the identical plot of land to optimise agricultural yields and clear energy era.
Citing the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) as a mannequin coverage intervention, the UN famous that the strategic subsidisation of rural mini-grids has considerably lowered retail tariffs for weak populations whereas unlocking substantial personal capital.
The report revealed that the initiative has supported the deployment of 125 mini-grids and facilitated the distribution of multiple million Solar Home Systems (SHS).
“Through these interventions, more than 5 million Nigerians now have access to reliable power, backed by targeted subsidies, lifeline tariffs, and pay-as-you-go financing models designed to ensure long-term affordability and widespread access,” the report learn in half.
The UN additionally emphasised that focused subsidies and differential pricing frameworks stay important to making sure an equitable energy transition. By prioritising energy effectivity and off-grid options in low-income areas, growing nations can safe excessive returns on funding, cut back disparities in energy access, and stimulate native enterprise.
Reacting to the worldwide recognition, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the REA, Abba Aliyu, mentioned the report validates the company’s core philosophy that rural electrification extends far past counting megawatts.
“It is about building an energy ecosystem that drives economic productivity and uplifts livelihoods,” he mentioned.
Aliyu additionally counseled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for championing what he described because the world’s largest publicly funded renewable energy portfolio, noting that the company has now facilitated greater than 1,000 mini-grid installations nationwide.
He added that the REA’s expanding footprint continues to strengthen agro-processing, enhance agricultural yields, and bolster nationwide meals safety by powering irrigation methods, chilly storage services, and rural cottage industries.
Aliyu cited the latest commissioning of a 1MW mini-grid undertaking in Gombe State for instance of the company’s efforts to increase energy access and help rural financial actions.
