Generators arrive to rescue Tanzania from power rationing

Four power generators have arrived in Tanzania to help the country bail itself out of the ongoing power rationing scheme, according to government sources on Wednesday.

The power generators using natural gas-fired turbines, two purchased and as many on lease, are expected to help stabilize the electricity supply of the country through its sole power supplier - -Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited.

Prolonged drought since last year has caused water levels in Tanzania's hydropower reservoirs to drop below normal operation requirement and hence the reduction or even outright stop of generation of electricity.

So far Tanzanians have withstood three rounds of power rationing since late last year. The latest nationwide power rationing started just prior to the kick-off of the World Cup soccer tournament.

Failure of rainfall during the short rain season, coupled with the breakdown of a powerful transformer in Dar es Salaam, led to three months of power rationing from late last year to early this year.

The prolonged power rationing has bitten into the emerging manufacturing industry in the country, causing lots of workshops and factories to stop operating or to function only part-time.

Tanzania has been relying on hydropower for the past four decades, with seven hydropower plants combining to boast of an installed electricity generating capacity of 656 megawatts.

Yet due to the failure of rainfall in the short rain season late last year and early this year, these hydropower plants were only operating at 30 percent of their capacity, thus causing a nationwide power load shedding.

The country has been resorting to natural gas-fired turbines to compensate for the electricity shortfall.

Source: Xinhua