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The federal government, through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), has ended a 17-year blackout in Tallasse and the wider Balanga local government area of Gombe state.
It commissioned a 1MW solar mini-grid with a 2.4MWh battery energy storage system, in partnership with the Gombe state government and a private developer.
The ceremony also flagged off construction of a 16MW network of four interconnected solar mini-grids across Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo communities, to supply homes, farms, markets and small businesses.
The Tallasse project already serves 6,028 connections and powers electric groundnut oil processing, rice milling and flour grinding facilities, as well as electric tricycles.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, described the projects as a practical expression of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, citing renewable power projects across the country, from Adamawa to Lagos, Oyo, Plateau, Kano and Kwara. He said the commissioning opens a new chapter for Tallasse residents.
“The true significance of these investments will be measured in the daily lives they improve: the farmer who can process produce closer to home, the trader who can preserve perishable goods, the artisan who can power equipment, and the young person who can build a livelihood within the community,” he said.
He added that the projects can strengthen public services, reduce dependence on costly self-generation and attract enterprise. He urged residents to protect the facilities against vandalism.
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya called the projects the product of close collaboration between Gombe State and the Federal Government through the REA. He said that in an agricultural community like Balanga, pairing reliable power with rice milling, groundnut processing, flour production and electric mobility strengthens the entire local economy, not just household lighting.
REA Managing Director/CEO Abba Aliyu said the programme is shifting its focus from counting connections and megawatts to measuring economic outcomes. He noted that access without reliability limits impact, which is why the projects combine battery storage, intelligent monitoring, productive-use equipment and sustainable operating models.
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