The Federal Government has announced plans to introduce a sustainability tariff for public institutions benefiting from government-funded solar electricity projects.
The initiative, unveiled during the launch of the Renewable Assets Management Company (RAMCO) by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) on Wednesday, is aimed at ensuring the long-term maintenance of renewable energy infrastructure and preventing the deterioration of completed projects.
The Managing Director of REA, Aliyu Abba Abubakar, said the decision followed an assessment which revealed that some early solar projects had deteriorated because there were no sustainable arrangements for their maintenance, despite helping beneficiary institutions save billions of naira previously spent on diesel generators.
He explained that RAMCO was established to professionally manage publicly financed renewable-energy assets, engage competent operators, meter and bill beneficiaries, collect payments and build reserves for major equipment replacement.
According to him, the new arrangement would ensure that government-funded solar installations do not become dependent on fresh budgetary allocations whenever major components such as batteries or inverters require replacement.
“If a battery or inverter requires replacement in year eight, we should not return to the treasury in year eight looking for emergency funding. The money should already be there,” Abubakar said.
He stressed that RAMCO was not created to make profits from public institutions, but to move the burden of maintaining renewable-energy infrastructure away from repeated government appropriations and towards a commercially sustainable system capable of attracting private capital.
The REA boss said beneficiary institutions would therefore be required to contribute towards sustaining the projects by paying for the electricity they consume.
He argued that the sustainability tariff should not be viewed simply as an additional expense, but as a predictable cost that would help preserve reliable power infrastructure.
Nigeria, he disclosed, has committed about N263 billion to solar-hybrid generation under the Energising Education Programme (EEP), covering 22 federal universities and three teaching hospitals.
Since the programme began in 2017, about 82MW of solar-hybrid generation has been deployed, while more than 150MW is either under construction or in the pipeline through various renewable-energy programmes.
However, an assessment of seven sites delivered under the first phase of the EEP showed the extent of the maintenance challenge, with only three found to be in good or usable condition.
Abubakar attributed the deterioration largely to the absence of sustainable maintenance arrangements, reliable revenue mechanisms and clearly designated institutions responsible for managing the assets throughout their economic lives.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the tariff would be set at an appropriate and sustainable rate to bridge the gap between renewable-energy deployment and long-term sustainability.
He also disclosed that the government was conducting technical audits of damaged infrastructure and working to strengthen the national grid.
“We are struggling to wheel 5,000 megawatts today. My target is that by the end of this year, we’ll conveniently be wheeling 6,500. By the end of next year, we will be wheeling conveniently 8,000 megawatts,” Tegbe said.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, said the initiative would help sustain renewable energy in health institutions, while the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, said it would help tertiary institutions maintain reliable electricity on their campuses.
Alausa said at least 15 universities had already been solarised, stressing that the major challenge was now ensuring that the infrastructure was properly operated, maintained and preserved.
“This is where RAMCO becomes important,” he said.
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