FG Announces Deadline To Take Tertiary Institutions Off National Grid, Shares List
- Experts recommended shedding load off the national grid as a way to reduce the frequency of the collapse
- This means allowing power generation and distribution to take place at several levels other than the national level
- To achieve this, the federal government has announced the deadline to take all federal tertiary institutions off-grid
Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
In a move to take more electric load off the national grid, the federal government has since commenced moving federal tertiary institutions to solar power.
The minister of education, Tunji Alausa, confirmed that 24 federal institutions have been moved to solar energy under the “Energising Education Project”.
Alausa stated this on Wednesday, May 7, in Abuja, after conducting an inspection tour of the solar-powered facility at the Yakubu Gowon University (popularly known as the University of Abuja).
Source: Getty Images
In the follow-up of the tour, the minister coordinated the Collaboration Agreement Signing Ceremony with the vice chancellors of the latest eight beneficiary institutions in Phase 4 of the project.
List of eight institutions going off-grid
The project is being implemented in multiple phases, and 24 universities have been successfully taken off the national grid to depend on their mini-grid.
The managing director, Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, said that Phases 1, 2, and 3 have generated over 100MW of power for the universities and teaching hospitals, impacting over 600,000 students and 50,000 academic staff.
The ongoing phase 3 targets eight more tertiary institutions and one teaching hospital, and is near completion.
The beneficiary institutions include;
- Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria;
- University of Nigeria, Nsukka;
- Federal University, Wukari, Taraba State;
- Federal University Dutse,
- University of Benin;
- University of Ibadan;
- Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife,
- And the University of Lagos.
FG to take all tertiary institutions off national grid by 2027
Speaking about the project, Alausa commended President Bola Tinubu’s initiative to provide uninterrupted power supply for all the federal-owned tertiary institutions.
He pointed out that the project would positively impact the quality of education in Nigeria, stimulate businesses within the campus, and the results would transfer to the economy, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
According to Alausa, the project is backed by the Renewable Infrastructure Fund, and the target is to transition all tertiary institutions to renewable energy by 2027.
The solar farm at the University of Abuja has 6,000 photovoltaic panels and is expected to generate about 3.3MW daily, keeping the campus on an uninterrupted power supply.
He said:
“It allows for increased academic activity, powers laboratories and libraries throughout the day and night, and improves living and learning conditions for both students and faculty. Any campus is a community by itself. With constant power supply, you unleash high economic activity.”
As many as 400 major businesses, including Flour Mills of Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, and Dangote Industries, have already moved off-grid, securing the license to generate captive power.
Recall that the Presidential villa is also set to be taken off-grid in a N10 billion solar power project.
Source: Getty Images
All of these combined will reduce pressure on the electricity generation companies, as they are already unable to generate enough power for Nigeria's teeming population.
FG to start local production of solar panels
Despite contrary suggestions, the federal government has maintained its stance on banning the importation of solar panels into Nigeria.
This move could save Nigeria up to N200 billion in foreign exchange, allowing the FX to be channelled into more critical areas.
The government also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate local production of photovoltaic solar panels for electricity generation and create jobs locally.
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Source: Legit.ng
