In a small village of Egororebet, just outside Jos, Nigeria, a solar-powered minigrid hums at dusk. But instead of glowing homes and bustling businesses, the panels cast shadows over empty wires. The batteries died years ago. Families still burn kerosene lamps. The community’s dream of electricity? A flicker, then darkness.
This scene repeats across Africa, where dozens of government and donor-funded minigrids—decentralized energy systems meant to power rural communities—are operating far below capacity or lying abandoned. The issue isn’t just a lack of investment or sunshine. It’s a web of systemic failures: shoddy construction by contractors, neglected maintenance, and a lack of accountability that leaves communities stranded, despite their willingness to pay for better service.
During visits to 40 minigrid sites conducted under the FCDO sponsored UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF) programme over the last 12 weeks, a pattern emerged. Contractors often cut corners—using second-hand solar panels, substandard wiring, or poor earthing that risks fires–doing just enough to scale the minimum standards. Systems were installed and commissioned without proper documentation such as the commissioning test results, as-built single line diagrams and layout drawings, key equipment manuals, key maintenance spares, and operations and maintenance schedules. Panels went uncleaned for months, dust slashing energy output. Minor faults, like a tripped inverter or loose connection, became permanent failures because no one took responsibility.
As Nigeria races to electrify 25 million people by 2030, these stalled projects offer urgent lessons. Here’s how to turn them around—and ensure future minigrids across the continent don’t suffer the same fate.
Most minigrids start with fanfare: solar panels rise, batteries are installed, and communities celebrate. But within years, systems falter. Lead-acid batteries—cheap but fragile—die under intense heat and irregular maintenance. Users, struggling to pay high tariffs, disconnect or bypass their meters. Others never plug in, because of the limited capacity of minigrid deployed to the community. Many others are not connected for productive use because their equipment is still fossil fuel-powered, and cannot afford to retrofit to electrically powered alternative.
But the rot often starts earlier. Contractors, eager to win bids, sometimes use second-hand equipment or skip critical steps like proper earthing systems, adequately sized cables, and protective devices, leaving systems vulnerable to damage. Many installations lacked even basic O&M plans. No one was hired to clean panels or fix faults. “The contractors disappeared after commissioning,” laments a village head in Kaduna State. Worse, one project in Ogun State failed because corroded, reused cables caused a fire outbreak.
The result? Millions of dollars in stranded assets, and villages slipping back into energy poverty.
Problem: Poor workmanship and shortcuts plague projects.
Solutions:
Problem: Cheap, fragile tech fails under harsh realities common across Africa.
Solutions:
Problem: No O&M strategy leads to collapse.
Solutions:
Problem: Tariffs don’t match realities.
Solutions:
Pay-as-you-go (PAYG): Let users pay via mobile money, like airtime. Kenya’s M-KOPA uses this to sustain 250,000 solar systems.
Problem: Projects imposed from above breed distrust.
Solutions:
Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and state governments must:
To truly thrive, minigrids must go beyond basic lighting—they should power industries that drive prosperity, such as Data Centres and Digital Hubs; and Agriculture and Agro-processing hubs – two sectors with transformative potential:
Nigeria’s tech sector is booming, but unreliable power stifles innovation. Minigrids can unlock rural digital economies:
Agriculture employs 70% of Nigerians but suffers from post-harvest losses and low-value exports. Minigrids can revolutionize this:
Functional minigrids aren’t just about lightbulbs. They’re about students studying after sunset, clinics refrigerating vaccines, and farmers irrigating fields. When minigrids work, they lift entire economies.
But sustainability requires humility. “We’ve learned that installing a minigrid is the easiest part,” says a developer in Niger State. “Keeping it alive is the real test.”
Nigeria’s minigrid challenges reflect a more widespread struggle across the continent and are fixable—with accountable contractors, smart maintenance plans, and communities in the driver’s seat. The goal isn’t just to build more systems but to ensure these systems are fit for purpose and the last the test of time.
The status quo of elaborate launches and failed projects is not an option. Donors and public officials must shift from counting megawatts to monitoring and measuring impact: How many businesses opened? How many batteries survived five years? How many families still pay bills?
The world is watching. If Nigeria cracks this puzzle, it won’t just electrify villages—it’ll light a path for the 600 million Africans still living in the dark.
© 2021 Africa PPP Advisory Services. All Rights Reserved.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |