THE Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) yesterday announced a 14-hour power shedding throughout the country with immediate effect in a fresh round of power rationing. The power company said in a signed statement that power will be switched off from 9.00 am in the morning to 11pm at night daily. TANESCO attributed the rationing to a decrease in water levels at the main hydropower plants of Kihansi and Pangani.
We have been forced to start load shedding, there has been a decrease in generating capacity at the main national grid, read the statement in part.
Short rains expected in November will raise the levels of water and increase power generation at the main national grids.
Mr Elias Litiki, a meteorologist from the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA), said rainfall forecasts around the regions where hydroelectric power generation plants are situated shows that rainfall will be very little.
Yes, there will be short rains between now and December but forecasts show that it will not be significant, he said.
Mr Litiki said that rainfall predictions indicate that Kihansi is expected get below to average rainfall during the short rains while Pangani is expected to get average and above average rainfall.
The Tanesco Communications Manager, Ms Badra Masoud, told the Sunday News over the telephone that the power rationing would not affect sensitive institutions like hospitals, army barracks and industries as special arrangements had been made.
Ms Masoud said that the decision to start the load shedding now was taken because the time to repair turbines had taken too long while water levels had been dropping rapidly. She announced that Tanesco would be releasing a schedule for individual regions.
Other reasons for power rationing, according to the statement, include breakdown of a 20MW turbine of the independent power producer, Songas, breakdown of Kihansi and Hale turbines that produces 60MW and 8MW respectively.
Tanesco said the shortfall had forced it to embark on a load shedding of 65MW in different parts of the country. More details of the power rationing for different parts of the country will be released soon, the statement said.
The statement, however, did not indicate whether power rationing would be extended to Zanzibar, which depends on Tanesco for over half of its electricity needs.
Tanesco has already started to work on a number of long-term solutions to this problem, according to the statement.
A new 45MW power turbine in Tegeta is in the offing and will start producing power in November, this year. Songas unit 1 turbine, 20MW, whose repairs will be finished before end of this month and Kihansi Unit 1, 20MW, repairs will be completed and be in operation in the middle of December.
The statement added that Tanesco will continue to work closely with the government in preparation of purchasing generators to avoid similar situation next year.
Sunday News
Post published in: Uncategorized