UNDP, ECN provide solar energy for five FCT communities

The United Nations Development Programme has provided solar-power energy for five rural communities in Bwari Area Council in the FCT. The benefitting communities are Tokulo, Zhiko, Sunape, Youpe and Goipe. The gesture came under the “Expanding Access to Off-Grid Renewable Energy (Solar and Biomass) Based Sustainable Energy for All,” a project initiated by the Energy Commission of Nigeria. Director General, ECN, Prof. Eli Bala, said the UNDP provided the fund for the project, while the commission supervised the implementation. Bala, who spoke to newsmen after a two-day inspection tour of the communities, said the objective was to utilise renewable energy sources to provide basic needs for the communities. He listed those needs as lighting, cooking, heating, water pump and health care delivery. “These rural communities are not grid-connected and even those which are grid-connected, supply is epileptic and not regular to sustain a good standard of living. “Fortunately, these areas are endowed with some energy sources referred to as renewable energy, like the sun, wind and the biomass,” (plant-based materials). “They can utilise these with modern technology to enhance their standard of living. “What we did in these villages in Bwari Area Council is to provide them with clean water supply from underground through solar energy,” Bala said.