The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) on Wednesday said about 17 shops connected to the energizing economies solar powered system were affected by the fire outbreak at Iponri marketer in Lagos.
Mr Ayang Ogbe, the Director of Promotions (Information and Outreach) said in a statement made available in Lagos that the incidence occurred on April 15th around 7:00 pm but thankfully there was no loss of life.
Ogbe said REA commiserates with the shop owners affected by the incident and is committed to providing the necessary support to the affected traders.
He said that although the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, saying that it has been confirmed that the fire was not caused by the clean solar system powering many shops within Iponri market.
“As a result of the fire, meters and cable networks across some of the affected shops already connected to the energizing economies solar powered system were destroyed.
“IMESL had to shut down the solar system in order to conduct a comprehensive asset and systems assessment.
“ We are also working hard to restore electricity to the market in coordination with the Iponri market association,” quoted Ademola Adeshina, the representative of the Iponri Market Energy Solutions Limited (IMESL).
Ogbe said that the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is implementing the Energizing Economies initiative (EEI) which provides clean, safe and reliable electricity to economic clusters across Nigeria working with private sector developers.
He added that Iponri Market is one of many phase 1 markets benefiting from this initiative.
“This unfortunate incident will not deter EEI’s objective to electrify over 80,000 shops, empower over 340,000 micro small and medium size enterprises (MSMEs).
“ This also create over 2,500 jobs with the initial 16 economic clusters while serving over 18 million Nigerians.
“ It is a stark reminder that safe electricity installations and practices are paramount. It is a requirement on all EEI projects and a measure we take very seriously.” – Damilola Ogunbiyi, REA MD quoted.
The director said the energizing economies Initiative are already having transformational impact on businesses in Iponri market as well as other markets across the country through steady power supply, increased economic activity and business growth, job creation and enhancing the customer experience
