For many Nigerians, keeping the lights on starts with buying petrol or paying millions to construct solar panels. Soon, it could end, and another reign starts with renting a battery instead of relying on the power grid.
According to a Bloomberg report, MOPO and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a $75 million deal to expand battery rentals. This deal would make battery rental available for households and small businesses in Nigeria. It would also serve as a cheaper alternative to generators, expensive solar construction, and Nigeria’s unreliable power grid.
Per the report, the pilot programme will begin this year before a nationwide rollout through 2030.
Notably, the African energy company will continue to focus on underserved, off-grid, and weak-grid areas, as it did in its earlier rollouts. The model is designed for places where households and small businesses face high generator use, unreliable electricity, and inability to pay large upfront costs.
So, instead of buying batteries outright, customers will pay only for the energy they use which also erases illegal charges.
According to public sentiments, it’s a meaningful scale-up because it combines public-sector backing with a pay-per-use battery model. The partnership could offer a practical alternative as millions of Nigerians continue to face unreliable grid electricity and hike in fuel prices.
Furthermore, this new agreement signals a shift in Nigeria’s energy-tech sector. Nigeria’s battery-as-a-service market is increasingly crowded and becoming commercially validated. It is moving beyond small pilot projects into larger infrastructure backed by the public sector.
MOPO already operates across six African countries. The company reports it has recorded more than 32 million battery rentals, building on a milestone of 20 million rentals announced in 2024. The latest deal isn’t its first in the energy sector. Recall that in 2024, MOPO partnered with CrossBoundary Access on a $10 million financing initiative to deploy battery-swapping hubs in Nigeria.
Other companies, including bPOWERd, have also entered the market, signalling growing confidence in battery-as-a-service.
The REA partnership could strengthen Nigeria’s broader push to expand electricity access without relying solely on grid expansion. Distributed battery systems can complement solar installations, mini-grids, and other off-grid solutions.
However, the success of the project will depend on execution. Industry analysts and watchers will be tracking where the pilot launches, how quickly customers adopt the service, and whether the programme delivers measurable improvements in electricity access.
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