Millions of Homes to Get Power Next Year

By Marc Nkwame

Arusha — MORE than 14 million Tanzanians will be connected to the National Grid by June, next year, when most rural village homes in the country get lit up through the ongoing rural electrification project.

The Commissioner for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Mr Hosea Mbise, said that 30 per cent of the country will be connected to the main grid before June, next year.

He also said that 50 per cent of Tanzanians (more than 23 million residents) throughout the country, should be enjoying electricity services by 2025.

"We are recording steady progress which should be credited to the Rural Energy Agency (REA) efforts whose network of gridlines crisscrossing the country is slowly but surely lighting up Tanzania, especially in the remote parts," added Eng. Hosea.

He said that the country deserved recognition in recording such achievements considering that covering more than a million square kilometres, Tanzania was extremely large.

In 2005 it was only nine per cent of the country's population had been connected to the main grid and now the figure has jumped to 30 per cent, with the country aiming at 50 per cent next year.

Mr Mbise was speaking here during the occasion to launch the newly designed logo for the Rural Energy Agency, together with the REA Client Service Charter, at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

The Director General for the Rural Electrification Agency, Dr Lutengano Mwakahesya, said that connecting remote villages to the national grid is a major component in the country's development goals.

The success achieved so far has helped cut back on rural-urban migration because the availability of power in villages has enabled these areas to get basic and essential services that were previously found only in urban centres. "There are now beauty parlours in rural areas.

The grain mills have been transformed from the ancient, rather noisy diesel powered ones into modern electric ones. The residents access all forms of communication including mobile phones, the internet and digital television services," said Dr Mwakihesya.

The Arusha Technical College (ATC) is also benefiting from ongoing REA projects in rural areas because the institution's students are being deployed to help in setting up electricity projects countrywide, according to the Assistant Rector, Eng. Vincent Mgaya.

It was, however, observed here during the REA meeting that, the average electricity consumption per capita in Tanzania, which stands at 100 units was still low compared to the international average of 500 units.

Source: allAfrica