The Rural and Electrification Agency (REA) has started implementing the productive use of equipment and appliances (PUE) for rural and underserved communities.
The Agency said the PUE would ensure unhindered access to energy-efficient and electric-productive equipment for rural communities.
The PUE would also encourage the use of low-cost productive appliances in unserved and underserved communities to improve rural productivity, economic growth, and also rural development.
REA, through its Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), aims to provide 24,500 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) with energy-efficient productive use appliances, while ensuring that 1,050,000 people have improved access to energy services.
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Speaking at the grant agreement signing for the productive use of the equipment and appliances, Managing Director of the REA, Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, said the support from African Development Bank Group AfDB would drive the sustainability of off-grid energy infrastructure across communities in the country.
“We are here for the Grant Agreement Signing for the Productive Use Appliances Component of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP) under the African Development Bank funding stream.
“At REA, our mandate is to provide access to electricity to unserved and underserved households and MSMEs in rural communities of Nigeria. The Agency from inception, has continued to collaborate and support private-sector participation in our dedication and commitment to achieve this mandate.
“Beyond keeping the lights on, we are very deliberate about the optimization of productive use equipment and appliances to catalyze socio-economic development in off-grid communities,” he said.
