Electricity

Overview

The Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), has broad objectives, including protecting stakeholder’s interests and ensuring service providers can fund their regulated activities. In achieving these objectives, the Authority, among other duties, issues licences, formulates and enforces quality codes and standards, reviews and determines rates and charges, approves Power Purchase Agreements, ensures security of supply, energy efficiency, and promotes effective competition and economic efficiency.

The Electricity Supply industry in Tanzania is dominated by the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO), which is a vertically integrated utility, wholly owned by the Government. TANESCO owns and operates the interconnected Main Grid (220kV, 132 KV and 66 kV) connecting the major load centres. The main power plants include Hydro power plants of Kidatu (204 MW), Kihansi (180 MW), Mtera (80 MW), New Pangani Falls (68 MW), Hale (21 MW) and Nyumba ya Mungu (8 MW). In addition TANESCO owns and operates Gas fired power plants using natural gas (mainly in Dar es Salaam, including Ubungo I (100 MW), Ubungo II (105 MW), Tegeta (45MW). TANESCO also owns and operates isolated grids that are supplied power from thermal diesel or IDO power plants at 33 KV and 11 kV; an has two gas fired power plants serving Mtwara/Lindi (18 MW) and Somanga Fungu (7.5 MW). There are also two large IPPs, namely IPTL (100 MW using Heavy Fuel Oil)  and Songas (189 MW using natural gas) . and three Small Power Producers (SPPs up to 10 MW) TPC ( up to 9 MW), TANWAT (up to 1.5 MW) and Mwenga (up to 4 MW) based on renewable energy sources; more SPPs are in the development stage.

For quite some time, the country has faced repeated and prolonged drought that has impacted severely the hydro generation capabilities, coupled with limited capacity of gas processing and transmission infrastructure, hence resulting in power rationing, especially in the areas served by the Main Grid, resulting into power rationing. In such situation, Emergency Power Producers are usually hired to bridge the deficit. Recently the Government has engaged Aggreko (100MW) and Symbion LLC (112 MW + 105 MW) to generate power on short-term basis. The total national installed capacity is 1438 MW (Jan, 2013). Efforts are being made to increase power generation from the local available resources namely natural gas, coal, and renewable energy sources namely geothermal, solar, wind and biomass.

With about 900,000 customers, electricity is available to about 18% of the population, with more than 80% supplied in the urban areas. Efforts are being made to increase access to meet the target of 30% by year 2015. The Rural Energy Agency has been established to oversee the implementation of rural electrification projects, using Rural Energy Fund as provided in the Rural Energy Act.