Gombe’s Talasse gets 1MW solar mini-grid after 17 years off grid: what it means

The Federal Government and Gombe State have commissioned a 1MW solar mini-grid in Talasse, the headquarters of Balanga Local Government Area, on Saturday, 17 October 2026. Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya said a lack of electricity had held the community back for more than 17 years.

The plant has a 2.4MWh battery bank and 6,028 connections: 5,929 homes, 84 businesses and 15 points set aside for productive use, the managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, said at the ceremony. The agency spells the town Tallasse.

At the same event, work began on four more interconnected mini-grids with a combined capacity of 16MW in Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo, according to the REA.

Why does it matter?

Farmers, artisans, traders and small business owners in Talasse have relied on expensive alternative sources of power, the governor said. “Electricity is not merely a social amenity; it is a fundamental driver of modern economic development,” he said, Daily Trust reported.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, asked residents to guard the plant against vandals and thieves. “These assets have been built for you, for your benefit and for the posterity of generations to come,” he said.

What comes with the power?

The REA says the project is meant to do more than light homes. It comes with electric tricycles, an electric groundnut oil processing plant, a modular electric rice mill and multi-flour electric grinding machines.

“Access without reliability limits economic impact,” Aliyu said. “That is why we are integrating storage, intelligent monitoring, productive-use equipment and sustainable operating models.”

The governor said the state government would also offer residents rice mills, flour grinders and groundnut oil machines at favourable prices.

What will it cost to use?

None of the speeches reported from the ceremony gave a tariff for Talasse, and no cost for the project was announced. Gombe now regulates its own electricity market through the Gombe State Electricity Regulatory Commission, set up under the state’s electricity law, the governor said.

Earlier this week in Ibadan, where he flagged off 17.7MW of mini-grids for Oyo State, Tegbe said: “I want to say this clearly and without ambiguity: there is no plan to increase electricity tariffs,” the News Agency of Nigeria reported. He was responding to reports of a tariff rise circulating on social media, not setting a mini-grid price. The video with this story is TVC News’s report on the Oyo flag-off and his remarks on tariffs.

How does Talasse fit the national push?

The projects are being carried out under the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up (DARES) programme, the REA said. The governor thanked President Bola Tinubu, the minister, the REA, the World Bank and the technical partner, MIDS Dynamic.

“From Kwara State and the Federal Capital Territory to Oyo State last Wednesday, and now here in Gombe, renewable power is spreading across Nigeria with unmistakable momentum,” Tegbe said in Gombe.

Added up, the mini-grids announced this week come to 34.7MW in two states, a GistMatrix count shows: 17.7MW flagged off in Oyo, 1MW switched on in Talasse and 16MW started elsewhere in Gombe.

What happens next

• Four more Gombe sites: construction has started on the 16MW of mini-grids in Dukku, Bajoga, Kumo and Kaltungo. No completion date was given in the reports from the ceremony.
• Filiya and Gelengu: mini-grids there are 90% complete, the governor said.
• 80 communities: the state’s rural electrification programme targets 80 communities across Gombe, he said.
• The price: watch for the tariff Talasse customers will pay per kilowatt-hour.

Do you live in Talasse or another mini-grid community? Tell GistMatrix how many hours of power you get and what you pay, and send us a photo or video.