Felix Chibuzor, a Nigerian real estate investor, is building a six-floor condominium in an upscale district of the capital, Abuja. But for the power supply, he does not plan to connect to the national grid.
The building plan includes a solar power capacity of 100 kilowatts (KW), well above the building's needs. The excess will be sold to neighbours, nearby mini-grids or even the national grid.
This business plan was made possible by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission's (NERC) Mini-Grid Regulations 2026, published in April. It is a blueprint for a regulatory shift away from dependence on a centralised national grid toward a decentralised power system, including off-grid and mini-grid supplies powered by renewables, mainly solar. Even home-solar owners will be able to sell their surplus to the grid.
There is a growing market in Nigeria for off-grid renewable power, mainly solar. Nigeria saw the addition of 803 megawatts (MW) of new solar power in 2025, a more than two-fold increase from the previous year, the report said. The latest regulatory response looks to tap into privately generated power to meet long-starved national demand.
Originally published by African Business.