Ilumine
Senior Member
- Dec 27, 2008
- 196
- 4
- As Tanesco quietly eases power rationing
Independent Power Tanzania Limited (IPTL) have yet to switch on their generators due to what they described yesterday as a thorough technical check up of the plants engines.
In an exclusive interview, the IPTL provisional liquidator Theophil Rugonzibwa said that furnace oil and diesel for the plant was to be ferried to the site yesterday evening, adding: The engines were not used for a long time, making technical check up a mandatory exercise. The generators cannot therefore be switched on immediately.
He declined to disclose reasons for the delay in transporting the oil consignment to the plant site.
IPTL was expected to start its power generating activities a November 1, this year, adding 80MW to the national grid.
But there was a delay, which analysts attributed to logistical problems in transporting the fuel from TIPER to IPTL plant site at Tegeta.
Meanwhile, the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) Communications Manager, Badra Masoud said that the countrywide power rationing had been slightly eased following resumption of full operation at the Hale hydro-power plant.
She said water level at Kidatu Dam has gone up, leading to increased production of power from its plant.
But she cautioned: This doesnt mean that power rationing has come to an end. Power rationing will be there though at a minimal level.
Hale hydro-power station has the capacity to produce 21MW while Kidatu can produce about 204 MW.
Songas power plant which has also been normalized has added 20MW to the national grid.
Tanzania started experiencing power shedding early this month after three major sources of power - the Kihansi, Hale hydro-power dams and the Songas - experienced technical hitches.
This had led to a shortfall of about 150 MW, a situation that forced the government to turn to IPTL to generate power as a stop-gap measure to tackle the crippling load shedding.
President Jakaya Kikwete, two weeks ago, instructed government officials to work towards buying power from the privately-owned IPTL power plant, which has been lying idle.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
