Nigeria moved to curb the deployment of substandard equipment in the renewables segment of the power sector on Friday, with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) receiving devices from Chinese Company, Huawei, to test the authenticity of products, both local and imported.

At a brief handover ceremony in Abuja, the Chief Executive of the REA, Abba Aliyu, reiterated the role played by President Bola Tinubu, following his recent visit to China, stressing that the equipment will help reduce cases of low quality materials in Nigeria’s renewable energy drive.

He stated that sometime in September 2024, the President visited China, explaining that the event was part of the results of the China-Africa initiative, which saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the time.

The MoU, he said, was signed to enable Huawei to support the agency in developing a world-class mini-grid standardisation and simulation centre in Abuja.

“I am happy to say that today we are witnessing the fulfillment of all the commitments signed under that memorandum of understanding. The importance of this mini-bridge standardisation and simulation centre cannot be over-emphasised.

“Nigeria is working towards positioning itself as the renewable hub of Africa. To achieve that, Nigeria would require to catalyse private sector investment in the manufacturing and assembly of all the renewable equipment in the country. But one key thing that may hinder that, is the proliferation of substandard or used equipment that keeps coming into Nigeria.

“Private sector will require the assurance and the confidence that if they put in their money and build a manufacturing outfit in the manufacturing of photovoltaic panels or assembly of that, they would not be competing with people that import second-hand or substandard PV panels.

“To address that, the REA sought the support of Huawei and the Chinese government for the development of this simulation and standardisation centre. This centre will help REA to sieve out all substandard and second-hand equipment, be it the PV panels or batteries,” Aliyu added.

He listed some of the 18 equipment donated by Huawei as: Power analyser, multimeter , electronic load, AFCI generator, DC power, pyranometer, handler pyranometer, battery analyser, micrometer, screw gauge, barrier caliper, tool kit, computers, idea hub, and printers, among others.

According to him, some of the equipment that Huawei provided to REA were first of their kind in the country, showing the level of commitment Huawei and the Chinese government have towards supporting REA to address the electricity access challenge in Nigeria.

“What we are going to use this testing and simulation centre for is for us to certify the vendors that we will be using. The country is experiencing an influx of substandard or used equipment. We need to get rid of that for us to catalyse investment into the country.

“So, we are going to use this testing and simulation centre to certify vendors that have met the standard of REA for us to continue to buy their equipment and make use of it in the country. That is one. We are also going to use this to ensure the sustainability of our mini-grids infrastructure across the country,” Aliyu added.

In his remarks, the Board Director, Huawei Nigeria, Zhang Jing, stated that the mini grids systems will help improve Nigeria’s power infrastructure, ensuring renewable energy across the country are reliable and efficient.

“They have been designed to handle different environmental challenges and withstand extreme weather conditions. Huawei is very delighted to partner with REA on this great initiative and milestone to make Nigeria have a more sustainable and secure energy future,” he stated.

Emmanuel Addeh

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