End power outages, Tanesco told

Dar es Salaam. Business operators have called on the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) to end power outages.

Many businesspersons had high hopes that with the completion of a gas pipeline the process of switchover from expensive thermal power run by independent power producers to gas-power plants, would remarkably end irregular power cuts, but that is yet to happen.

Following such a gloomy condition of electricity supply in 2015, industrialists are pushing for Tanesco to end power cuts in 2016.

The president of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Mr Peter Chisawilo, says power outages have been costing business operators because they cannot plan for production capacity to generate more revenue.

“I am also the owner of a factory based in Morogoro Municipality. I have been facing difficulties in running the factory because of frequent power cuts that have been occurring without notice from Tanesco. This is a very bad condition, because one cannot plan for business development,” says Chisawilo.

Power cuts had reached a peak in the country in July, turning the country into the land of power rationing in this year, according to him.

The former Chairman of the East African Business Council, Mr Felix Mosha, says he had high expectations that with the completion of the gas pipeline in August this year, power cuts would end, but that has never happened.

The Executive Director of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, Mr Godfrey Simbeye, also says that the launch of the gas pipeline had given hope to many people that power cuts might end soon, but it has been impossible.

“We want the target of attaining 3,000MW to be in place after the construction of the gas pipeline. We want more supply of electricity next year to end power rationing,” says Mr Simbeye.

He is also concerned about the unpredictability of electricity supply, which has been ruining industrial development.

“Predictability of power supply is important for industrialists and business operators generally. Irregular power cuts without notice tend to increase the cost of doing business. There is a need to carry out a study on this issue,” he says.

Industrialists have been facing declining revenues due to power cuts, but they have been forcing to keep employees in the factories, something which leads to further drainage of revenue, according to him.

Already, the Minister for Energy and Minerals, Prof Sospeter Muhongo, has given Tanesco a deadline of January 15, 2016 for releasing the report on the national power supply status outlining the ways of ending power cuts.

The energy ministry’s bulletin No. 18 of December 18-24 has quoted Tanesco management as saying that the Kinyerezi I-gas power plant which targets to generate 150MW by February next year has only generated 70MW for the national grid.

In response to government’s directive, Tanesco Managing Director Felchesmi Mramba, has told BusinessWeek that the company has welcomed the minister’s directive and it will issue a public statement on Tanesco electricity delivery services performance on January 15 next year. According to the Tanesco business plan for five years (2015 to 2019), the level of customers’ satisfaction is targeted to increase from 70 to 90 per cent, while each year of the plan 250,000 customers will be connected.

The plan also projects to add 720MW of gas power to the national grid from Kinyerezi I, II, III and IV in a span of five years, but given the current poor performance trend, pundits say the power utility parastatal has to work hard to meet such target.