By Stella Odueme
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has commissioned a 3MW captive solar hybrid power plant at Yakubu Gowon University, formerly the University of Abuja, delivering cleaner and more reliable electricity to a campus of 58,726 students.
The project, developed by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) under Phase II of the Energizing Education Programme (EEP), combines a 3.3MWp solar array with 3MW of AC output and 2MWh of battery storage.
The facility is supported by dedicated grid supply outside solar hours and is expected to end the university’s reliance on diesel generators, reducing electricity costs and improving power supply for academic activities.
The project also includes the installation of 388 streetlights across the campus to enhance security and extend safe hours of study and movement for students and staff.
Tegbe, who commissioned the facility in Abuja on Wednesday, described the project as an investment in human capacity development, noting that reliable electricity would protect academic facilities, specialist equipment and research activities.
According to his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Adeola Labzy, he said the initiative aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, under which electricity investments are being directed towards services and activities that directly improve citizens’ lives.
“Energizing education also protects the investments already made in academic facilities and specialist equipment. It reduces the disruption that weakens research and makes learning more difficult.
“These benefits extend beyond the campus, through graduates whose skills strengthen the economy and research that helps solve the country’s problems,” the minister said.
Yakubu Gowon University is one of nine institutions covered under Phase II of the EEP, comprising seven universities and two teaching hospitals.
Tegbe said the continuation of the programme across successive phases demonstrated the government’s commitment to improving electricity supply in educational institutions and supporting Nigeria’s young people.
He urged students and staff to protect the new infrastructure by reporting vandalism involving the solar system and other electricity assets, including transformers and transmission towers.
The minister disclosed that his ministry was developing a nationwide electricity complaints call centre to create jobs for young Nigerians, alongside a dedicated channel for reporting electricity asset vandalism for immediate remediation.
He added that a joint team comprising the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was working to curb vandalism of electricity infrastructure nationwide.
