Over 30% of solar systems in PHCs fail within three years — Health Minister

More than 30 per cent of solar systems installed in Nigerian Primary Health Centres (PHCs) become non-functional within three years of commissioning, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, has said.

Salako disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja at the official launch of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA)-Renewable Asset Management Company (RAMCO), held under the theme, “Powering Sustainable Growth: Launching Nigeria’s Renewable Asset Management Company.”

He said the problem was rarely the technology itself, but rather the absence of scheduled preventive maintenance, the unavailability of spare parts, a lack of dedicated budget lines, and unclear responsibility for the systems after the project period ended.

According to Salako, the situation highlights the need to move beyond installing renewable energy systems to ensuring their continued operation and maintenance.

Sustainability of renewable energy assets

Salako said RAMCO could address the problem by providing professional management of renewable energy assets after installation.

RAMCO promises to convert an installation into a managed asset. Its model, build, operate, optimise, aggregate, refinance and reinvest,” he said.

He said the model would ensure that renewable energy systems in health facilities had an owner, performance standards, maintenance schedules and a defined place on a balance sheet.

Salako said this would help move renewable energy infrastructure away from being treated as projects with an end date to assets that are professionally managed and maintained.

He said Nigeria must move away from a system in which energy infrastructure was commissioned and subsequently left without a sustainable framework for operation and maintenance.

“Sustainability must become part of the project from the first day, not an afterthought when equipment begins to fail,” Salako said.

Steady power for health facilities by 2027

Speaking further on the need for sustainable electricity in the health sector, Salako said the federal government was targeting a steady electricity supply in at least 30 per cent of health facilities by the end of 2027.

The target, he said, formed part of the Nigeria Power-for-Health Initiative approved by President Bola Tinubu following the first National Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Power in the Health Sector in September 2025.

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Salako said the dialogue produced a Compact for the Sustainable Electrification of Public and Private Health Facilities, as well as an implementation plan to achieve the 2027 target.

He said the initiative recognised the need for a long-term approach to healthcare electrification, rather than relying solely on installing power systems.

According to Salako, the government alone could not finance the scale of energy infrastructure required across Nigeria’s health system, making private capital and partnerships necessary.