Olufemi Adeyemi
A novel initiative aims to facilitate the development and installation of 250GW of electricity generation capacity by the year 2050.
The African Development Bank Group's Board of Directors has given the green light to a $500 million loan for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This loan is intended to fund the initial phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program (EGET-SP), a new initiative aimed at hastening the transformation of the country's electricity infrastructure and enhancing access to cleaner energy sources.
The loan will play a crucial role in bridging the financing gap in the Federal Budget for the 2024/25 fiscal year. It will specifically support the enforcement of Nigeria's new Electricity Act and the Nigeria Energy Transition Plan
Nigeria introduced the energy transition plan in August 2022 and passed a new Electricity Act in June 2023, which decentralized the electricity supply industry and paved the way for increased investments by subnational governments and the private sector.
The energy transition plan sets a target of developing 250 GW of installed electricity capacity by 2050, with 90% of it coming from renewable sources. By 2030, the plan aims to provide clean cooking access to the majority of the population through the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, biofuels such as ethanol, and electric cookstoves.
The Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program will also aid in the implementation of these policies, facilitating essential upgrades to Nigeria's electricity infrastructure and expediting the country's transition to cleaner and renewable energy sources.
The World Bank Group's half-a-billion-dollar support to the Federal Government of Nigeria represents the most recent in a sequence of endeavors designed to bolster the nation's economic expansion, poverty alleviation, and climate action initiatives.
The Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Program (EGET-SP) aligns with the Bank Group's new Ten-Year Strategy 2024-2033, its High 5s priorities, and the New Deal on Energy for Africa, which aims to achieve universal access to modern energy by 2030.
As of July 2024, the African Development Bank Group's current portfolio in Nigeria is approximately valued at $4.4 billion.