Nigeria has taken a decisive step toward bridging its longstanding electricity access deficit, with the Rural Electrification Agency announcing the deployment of more than 200 mini-grids across underserved communities throughout 2025.
The milestone, revealed by REA Managing Director Abba Abubakar Aliyu during a media briefing in Kano, represents one of the most ambitious rural electrification drives in recent years and signals growing momentum in efforts to extend reliable power to millions of Nigerians living beyond the reach of the national grid.
The deployments were executed under the Nigeria Electrification Project, which ran from January through December 2025. According to Aliyu, the completion of the NEP marks “a significant milestone in improving the reliability of electricity supply” for communities that have historically remained in darkness or depended on expensive and polluting diesel generators.
The achievements of 2025 appear to be just the beginning. Aliyu disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved a substantial $750 million Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) project, designed to dramatically expand mini-grid infrastructure across the nation.
Under DARES, the REA aims to deploy 1,350 mini-grids that would bring electricity to approximately 17.5 million Nigerians—a figure representing a significant portion of the estimated 85 million Nigerians currently without access to electricity.
“We are currently building over 900 mini-grids across the country; our target is to build 1,350,” Aliyu stated, indicating that the agency is already well into implementation of the ambitious program.
The focus on renewable energy-powered mini-grids aligns with global trends toward cleaner energy solutions and offers a cost-effective alternative to extending traditional grid infrastructure to remote and scattered communities where conventional electrification would be prohibitively expensive.
Beyond infrastructure deployment, the REA has taken steps to strengthen coordination between federal and state governments on electrification matters. Aliyu described the agency’s engagement with 21 states through state-by-state roundtable meetings as “unprecedented,” suggesting a new level of collaborative planning in the sector.
These engagements have provided state governments with critical data, partnership frameworks, and updates on ongoing electrification projects. The initiative aims to align federal and state electrification strategies, potentially reducing duplication of efforts and ensuring resources are directed where they’re needed most.
The agency has also completed a nationwide electrification mapping exercise that lays bare the enormity of Nigeria’s electricity access challenge. The assessment identified more than 150,000 communities either completely without electricity or suffering from unreliable supply.
This data will be instrumental in supporting the adoption of what Aliyu termed “least-cost electrification solutions”—an approach that considers whether communities are best served by grid extension, mini-grids, or standalone solar systems based on their specific circumstances and geography.
Aliyu reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to ensuring a sustainable power supply for rural and underserved communities, emphasizing that the progress made in 2025 represents not just infrastructure deployment but a foundation for long-term energy security in Nigeria’s countryside.
As Africa’s most populous nation continues to grapple with chronic power shortages that have hampered economic development and quality of life, the REA’s accelerated mini-grid program offers a glimmer of hope that rural Nigeria’s electricity future may finally be brightening.
The coming years will test whether the ambitious targets can be met and whether the mini-grids prove sustainable over time, but for now, 2025 stands as a landmark year in Nigeria’s ongoing quest to light up its rural communities.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Nigeria achieved a significant milestone in 2025 by deploying over 200 mini-grids to underserved communities through the Rural Electrification Agency. The most critical development is the presidential approval of the $750 million DARES project, which aims to deploy 1,350 mini-grids that will bring electricity to approximately 17.5 million Nigerians, with over 900 already under construction.
This represents the most aggressive push yet to address Nigeria’s massive electricity access gap, identified through nationwide mapping as affecting more than 150,000 communities.
Unlike previous efforts, the initiative combines renewable energy infrastructure with unprecedented federal-state coordination across 21 states, suggesting a more sustainable and comprehensive approach to finally bringing power to rural Nigeria.
