Electricity consumers on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar will have to pay 25 percent more for their power supplies starting next month.

The power tariff hike is caused by soaring operational costs incurred by the Zanzibar State Fuel and Power Corporation.

Mansour Yussuf Himid, minister for water, construction, energy resources and land in Zanzibar, told local media that the Zanzibar government had to adjust local power rates so as to enable the Zanzibar power company to meet the soaring operational costs, according to reports on Friday.

The Zanzibari minister explained that the new rates would help increase revenue collection as well as help get adequate funds to service the outstanding debt of 19 billion shillings (16.3 million U.S. dollars) to the Tanzania Electric Supply Company that has been supplying power to Zanzibar through a marine cable.

The marine cable linking Zanzibar and the Tanzania mainland was laid in 1979 with a capacity of 45 megawatts but so far Zanzibar uses only 30 megawatts.

Source: Xinhua