The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has announced the deployment of more than 200 mini-grids across underserved communities in 2025, marking a significant step toward closing Nigeria’s electricity access gap.
Speaking at a media briefing in Kano, REA Managing Director, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, said the installations were executed under the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) between January and December 2025. He described the development as a milestone in boosting electricity reliability and accelerating rural power access.
Aliyu revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had approved the $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) project, which targets the deployment of 1,350 mini-grids to provide electricity for an estimated 17.5 million Nigerians.
“We are currently building over 900 mini-grids across the country; our target is to build 1,350,” Aliyu said.
The REA boss added that the agency expanded its collaboration with state governments through 21 state-level roundtable engagements to harmonize data, partnerships, and electrification plans between federal and state stakeholders.
He also disclosed that the agency concluded a nationwide mapping exercise that identified more than 150,000 communities without electricity or with unreliable supply to guide least-cost electrification strategies.
Abubakar-Aliyu reaffirmed REA’s commitment to sustainable energy access for rural and underserved communities, noting that progress recorded in 2025 sets the pace for further expansion in renewable power delivery.
