The Federal Government has set aside ₦100 billion in the proposed 2025 budget to install solar mini-grids in selected federal universities, teaching hospitals, and government institutions, pending approval by the National Assembly.

The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, confirmed the initiative under the National Public Sector Solarisation Initiative, a programme of the Federal Ministry of Power aimed at reducing energy costs in public institutions.

“N100bn has been allocated for it. We are going to use that funding to solarise the entire public institutions,” Aliyu said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday.

He explained that the government reviewed the expenditure of public institutions on diesel and generators and opted for solar power as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative.

Once the budget is passed and signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, the REA will begin implementation, with the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) among the first beneficiaries.

“The UCH is part of the five that we are looking at starting. We want to do the University of Ibadan plus the teaching hospital; Obafemi Awolowo University; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; and Ahmadu Bello University,” he said.

The announcement follows protests by University of Ibadan students over a prolonged power outage at UCH, which led to assurances from Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu that electricity would be restored.

Aliyu stated that his agency aims to deploy 60 mini-grids and initiate 40 interconnect grids within six months. Some universities and teaching hospitals have already benefited from similar projects.

“We recently completed intervention in seven universities and two teaching hospitals where we provided them with hybrid mini-grids for 24-hour reliable, cost-effective electricity,” he said.

The new phase, covering eight universities and one teaching hospital, is expected to commence commissioning by April 2025.