Tanzanian electricity supplier denied gov't funds

The Tanzanian government has turned down a request for emergency funding from the country's sole electricity supplier, Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (Tanesco).

Local newspaper The Citizen on Tuesday reported that the company had sought government subsidy to the tune of 80 billion Tanzanian shillings (64 million U.S. dollars).

The electricity supplier has been purchasing electricity generated by privately-owned power plants to feed into the national power grid.

The newspaper quoted Mugisha Kamugisha, director of policy in the country's finance ministry, as saying that the government had already paid 30 billion shillings (24 million U.S. dollars) in subsidy since January this year to Tanesco after the company had experienced shortfalls in power generation due to the falling water levels of its hydropower dams.

The official said that the government is ready to help Tanesco to negotiate and net a commercial loan facility to fund its immediate financial needs so as not to overburden the Treasury.

The Tanzanian government has spent billions more of shillings on importing and leasing generators that operate on natural gases.

Tanesco last Saturday announced additional power rationing that extends the 10-hour blackout during the day into five more hours in the evening.

Electricity users in Tanzania, both domestic and industrial, are to have their power supply cut-off lengthened once every three days starting on Monday.

The current power rationing from Monday till Friday, that is affecting most of the country since mid-September, lasts from around seven in the morning till around five in the evening. The additional power cut-off is to last till 10 at night.

The power crisis in Tanzania started more than nine months ago when lack of rain waters during the last rainy season had caused the water levels at the country's major hydropower dams to drop and had forced the shut-down of key hydropower generation at Mtera and Kidatu twice in the past nine months.

Tanzania for the time being lacks an electricity supply of 240 megawatts, or half of the country's normal electricity consumption.

Tanesco has been resorting to load shedding and harsh power rationing schemes to cope with the crisis.

Source: Xinhua