Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The federal government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), in partnership with the Gombe State Government and a private developer, has begun construction of a 16MW network of four interconnected solar mini-grids across Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo communities in Gombe State.
A statement at the weekend by Adeola Adelabu, spokesman to the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said the government also ended a 17-year electricity blackout in Tallasse, Balanga Local Government Area of the state, following the commissioning of a 1 megawatt solar mini-grid equipped with a 2.4-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
The project currently serves 6,028 connections and includes electric-powered groundnut oil processing, rice milling and flour grinding facilities, as well as electric tricycles.
The commissioning also featured the groundbreaking for a 16-megawatt network of four interconnected solar mini-grids serving Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo communities across the state.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Power, Tegbe, said the projects reflected President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, adding that expanding renewable energy access would help improve livelihoods, stimulate local businesses and strengthen rural economies.
“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.
Tegbe said the projects would help strengthen public services, reduce dependence on expensive self-generation and attract investment into underserved communities. He also urged residents to protect the facilities against vandalism to ensure their sustainability.
Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, described the projects as evidence of effective collaboration between the state government and the federal government through the REA.
He said combining reliable electricity with agro-processing facilities and electric mobility would create broader economic opportunities for residents of Balanga, an agrarian community that had endured years without electricity.
The Managing Director of the REA, Abba Aliyu, said the agency was shifting its focus from measuring success by the number of connections and megawatts installed to assessing the economic benefits delivered to communities.
He explained that the projects incorporated battery storage, intelligent monitoring systems, productive-use equipment and sustainable operating models to ensure that electricity access translated into tangible improvements in economic activity.
The projects are being implemented under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, as the federal government pursues decentralised power solutions alongside efforts to strengthen the national grid.
The initiative includes mini-grids, embedded generation, solar home systems and dedicated electricity solutions for universities, markets and agricultural clusters.