Tanesco seeks $260m to meet demand for power

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) needs over Sh500 billion ($260.40 million) to meet the rising demand for power in the Coast Region.

The amount is enough to enable the region to become energy self-sufficient in the next ten years as currently it depends on power supplied to Dar es Salaam Region.

The amount of funds required for invest in power was established by a recent study that was carried out to measure the demand for electricity in the Coast Region, which is poised to become an industrial hub after Dar es Salaam.

The study findings revealed that there was a need for long and short term planning to enable the construction of six projects to cater for regional electricity demands.

The current electricity customer base in the region stands at 96,545 and requires at least seven megawatts of electricity. However, the current supply is just 60 per cent of the demand.

It is estimated that increased industries and population in the region will push up electricity demand for both households and manufacturers.

“As at June 2018, the distribution network in the region covered 1,876 kilometres of 33 kilovolt lines, 255.99 kilometres of 11 kilovolt and 1,1773 kilometres of low voltage lines, respectively, with 716 distribution transformers,” said the company’s senior zonal manager Dar es Salaam and Coast Mahende Mugaya

He said Tanesco was looking to apply for a loan from the World Bank, domestic and foreign sources.

Mr Mahende said demand for electricity grew at an average of rate of more than 6 per cent annually, doubling from 36.8 megawatt in 2012 to 73.2 megawatt in 2017.