Page 5 - AfrElec Week 48 2022
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AfrElec POLICY AfrElec
Tanzania begins power rationing
due to drought in East Africa
TANZANIA TANZANIA HAS started rationing electricity “water levels have decreased in most sources,
(“loadshedding”) due to a drop in hydropower forcing our plants to generate below their
generation brought on by drought, the national capacity”.
provider Tanesco has announced, with some Tanzania has been working to increase its
areas set to suffer nine-hour outages. hydropower capacity, including via the con-
The East African nation has the capacity to struction of the controversial Julius Nyerere dam
generate nearly 1,695MW through hydropower, project (JNHPP) in the Selous Game Reserve,
natural gas and other means but faces a short- with a projected 2,100MW capacity.
age of 300-350 MW, Tanesco managing director President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said that
Maharage Chande said. Tanzania should produce over 6,000MW of elec-
“There are two major reasons which have tricity via renewable sources by 2025 as part of a
caused the shortages in generation: prolonged move to diversify its energy sources.
drought and ongoing maintenance in some of Among the other projects envisioned are the
our plants,” Chande told reporters in the com- Ruhudji and Rumakali hydropower projects,
mercial capital, Dar es Salaam, on November 23, expected to add 358MW and 222MW to the
as quoted by VOA. national grid, respectively. Tanzania also aims to
Affected plants include Kihansi in the south- produce 600-700MW of electricity from solar,
east Morogoro region, which has seen capacity she added and tap energy from wind.
fall to 17MW from 180MW, he said, noting
Week 48 30•November•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P5
