Find Electricity and Power expertise in United Republic of Tanzania

The electricity and power sectors of Tanzania are growing to meet the country’s needs which, in 2012, exceeded demand. Per capita electric power consumption was 61 kilowatt-hours in 2005. During the 2000s production has been far short of demand, constraining industrial development and electrification of the rural areas. It was estimated that, in 2010, Tanzania’s electricity generation capacity was 887 MW of which 660 MW was available on the national grid. This meant that the electricity demand of 879 MW could not be met. The government has sought to expand electricity production with participation of the private sector.

Hydropower has been the largest source of electricity but production has been affected by poor rainfall. A major expansion of thermal power generation is under way, exploiting the country’s own reserves of natural gas and coal. The Ubungo plant at Dar es Salaam is now fuelled by natural gas piped from Tanzania’s Songo Songo field.

Low tariffs make it difficult to raise funds for the construction of further, large capacity plants although development of the thermal power sector has been enabled by the construction of Mchuchuma Thermal Power Plant with investment from the Chinese company, Sichuan Hongda Co. ltd  In 2009, Tanzania imported 100% of its petroleum, principally from the Middle East.

Many have pointed out that there is enormous potential for investment in the renewable energy sector given the favourable state of natural resources such as wind and water in the country. Although Tanzania is a signatory of the Kyoto agreement legislation promoting the use and development of renewable energy sources is not in place.

The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report (2012-2013) ranks Tanzania 132nd out of 144 countries worldwide in quality of electricity supply. The country receives a score of 1.9 out of 7, well below the world mean of 4.5 meaning that the electricity supply is insufficient and experiences some interruptions.

The responsibility of regulating the electricity, natural gas and petroleum sectors comes into the mandate of the Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA) under the Water Utilities Regulatory Act.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) is responsible for the development and promotion of the sector and regulates the activities of the Tanzania Electric Supply Company Ltd (TANESCO) which is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of energy in the country. TANESCO, a public utility company, is the principal provider of electricity in the country.

Independent Power Producers (IPP) such as Power Tanzania Limited, Songas (190MW) and Artumas Inc. alongside Aggreko (40MW), Dowans (100MW) and Alstom (40MW) make up the bulk of private sector energy producers and suppliers.

The Rural Energy Agency, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, is mandated to promote and develop access to affordable, modern energy services in rural areas of mainland Tanzania. The focus of development is on exploitation of local energy resources. Access to the national grid is currently limited in rural areas although some have access to small, local grids run on solar, micro-hydro or biomass power.